tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45074083775748062772017-07-29T16:26:12.522+08:00Mark & Kara's Travels2 Years in Mongolia...Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-82418983284680662342011-07-26T14:57:00.002+08:002011-07-26T14:57:51.384+08:00Last Blog Post from Mongolia<br /><div class="MsoNormal">by Kara</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I read what Mark posted earlier today and thought it was very nicely composed. I don’t want to compete with his post, but thought that maybe I should share some of my own thoughts.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">For me, right now it just feels like we’re packed up to go on vacation. It’s hard to mentally process that we may never come back to this country again and even more, that we may never see some of our Mongolian and PCV friends again. I think it’s going to take some time for that to set in. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">When we were applying for the Peace Corps I was so excited to live in another country and have everyday experiences like going grocery shopping be interesting and like a small adventure. Now, after two years, rather than feeling like an adventure, sometimes it’s just tiring to have a simple task like grocery shopping be a cumbersome experience. I’m actually looking forward to being able to go grocery shopping and not have everybody stare at me and to not have a confusing interaction with the cashier.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, I still love the attention I get from kids in Arkhangai just walking around town. Everyday there are always at least a few kids who shout, “HI! HI! HI!” Other PCVs have gotten tired of this, but I still love it. The kids are adorable. Now I’m going to go back to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> and I’m just going to be another boring adult. And if I give a piece of candy to some kid on the street (perfectly acceptable here), people are going to think I’m a kidnapper. Great.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Then again, I’m really excited for Mark and I to start a fresh, new life together again in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city>. I can’t wait to be busy learning (as a grad student at UW) and working (hopefully I’ll secure a job soon). Having struggled with a huge language barrier in my work in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, I’m especially looking forward to working with people who are all fluent in the same language as me. I know I’ll face challenges, but at least we’ll be able to communicate with one another.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Clearly, there are a lot of things I know I’m going to miss about <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region> (it’s impossible to list them all here) and a lot of things I’m looking forward to in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I can’t yet say exactly how my service as a PCV in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region> has changed me for the long-term. Those close to me may be able to indicate these changes better than I can. I hope that it’s made me more patient and understanding. I definitely think it’s made me more understanding of people who are living in another country and attempting to speak a non-native language. I also really admired a lot of the generosity I found in my Mongolian friends and coworkers and I’ve hoped that would rub off on me… However, I’m not confident that it has. That’s still something I’m working on.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">There are little things that are with me now but may go away with time. If my foot bumps somebody else’s foot I feel the urge to shake their hand. I may be a bit pushy in ATM lines and stand a little to close to the person in front of me, worried somebody might cut. I won’t be as disappointed if the item I order at a restaurant isn’t there. (Last night we went to a restaurant called Thai Cuisine and after ordering were told that Thai food is not available.) And don’t be too surprised if you catch me loudly slurping up hot beverages.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Well, that’s all the insight I’ve got right now… I’m going to go back to looking up tips online for how to travel with a cat on a plane. Here’s hoping she swallows her pills and sleeps the whole time! Mark and I might post a follow-up post or two from the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>, but this marks the last one from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region>! Bayartai! Thanks for following our blog!</div>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-28109200780344237972011-07-26T09:37:00.000+08:002011-07-26T09:37:35.331+08:00Completing our Service<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark</span><br /><br />Today is July 26th, 2011 here in Mongolia. &nbsp;Kara and I have spent the past week in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar where we've been finishing up our Close-of-Service (COS) paperwork for Peace Corps. &nbsp;As of July 24th, midnight, we became RPCV's...(the R means Returned...which we soon will be in actuality).<br /><br />It's really hard to put into words how we feel right now. &nbsp;I know my feelings are different than Kara's...and I know our memories are different as well. &nbsp;Honestly, leaving Arkhangai was harder than leaving Mongolia will be. &nbsp;We fly out later tonight, but in many ways it feels like our time in Mongolia has already concluded. &nbsp;When we were packing our things in our apartment, it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it might. &nbsp;It's a strange feeling knowing that you came to this country with two large bags and two carry-on items...and yet we'll leave carrying the same baggage. &nbsp;Yes, we've swapped out our old clothes for some of the gifts we received from members of our community. &nbsp;We've thrown out old shoes, and donated other items to friends, future PCV's, and even an orphanage. &nbsp;And yet, we're about to get on a plane carrying the same amount of weight as when we arrived over 2 years ago.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k2Y8WTgol8c/Ti4P9m4hsNI/AAAAAAAAAl8/GI_UnLqBE3U/s1600/DSCN5029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k2Y8WTgol8c/Ti4P9m4hsNI/AAAAAAAAAl8/GI_UnLqBE3U/s320/DSCN5029.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">During our last 48 hours at our site, we had many different friends and co-workers want to stop by and visit, or take us out for a meal, or give us a small gift so that we'll remember them when we've left. &nbsp;It was a wonderfully kind show of affection. &nbsp;The most common question we received was "when will you return to Mongolia?". &nbsp;And honestly, we don't know. &nbsp;It's easy to joke about returning in 10 years...or telling people we'll return when we've had children and we can all reminisce about our 2 years in Arkhangai together. &nbsp;But the reality is we just don't know. &nbsp;And not knowing when you'll return can make leaving even harder than leaving a place you know you'll return to.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Before we left, my co-workers presented me with the "engraved" version of the bowl they gave me when we were camping. I asked them to have the text be engraved in Mongolian so that I can at least try to remember a few words of this language whenever I look at it. &nbsp;They've been incredibly giving to me over the past couple of years, and I hope that the "work" we've done in Mongolia, together, will be something they remember whether I return in the future or not.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qvE0XST_mbI/Ti4P40ZhNPI/AAAAAAAAAl4/eukNXPd5HTY/s1600/DSCN5011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qvE0XST_mbI/Ti4P40ZhNPI/AAAAAAAAAl4/eukNXPd5HTY/s320/DSCN5011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The day we left Arkhangai we were told we'd be picked up at around 10am. &nbsp;Then that got changed to 2pm. Then we got a call at 1:15 saying they were coming to get us. &nbsp;Luckily, we were ready. &nbsp;We packed all our things into our micro-bus, including our cat Mishka (who is coming back with us!), and prepared for our final goodbyes. &nbsp;One of our friends from the community called me, asked us to wait, and said he was jumping on his motorbike and would drive down to see us off. &nbsp;And just before it was time to leave, a group of my co-workers arrived in a separate vehicle, told Kara and I to join them, to leave our bags, and informed our driver we'd meet them a little ways down the road.&nbsp;</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwcNw884IZ0/Ti4QB7g8pOI/AAAAAAAAAmA/9c8_p95qQ3M/s1600/DSCN5032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwcNw884IZ0/Ti4QB7g8pOI/AAAAAAAAAmA/9c8_p95qQ3M/s320/DSCN5032.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />They drove us out to the archway/gate at the edge of Tsetserleg where the rest of my staff was waiting to see us off. &nbsp;We all shared one last toast of Chinggis vodka, passed around some candy, and waited for our ride to appear through the gateway. &nbsp;I had a really hard time keeping it together. &nbsp;I couldn't say anything to my co-workers for fear that I'd really start tearing up...so instead I just tried to smile. &nbsp;When it came time for us to go, Kara and I were gripped with heart-felt hugs from everyone. &nbsp;And then we drove away.<br /><br />I've had a lot of time here in UB to think about the completion of our service. &nbsp;To ponder what it means to "finish" something like volunteer development work. &nbsp;Our period of service is finishing, but what we've been doing and why we've been doing it will not end when we get on the plane. &nbsp;There are thousands of volunteers all over the world that are continuing to do what we've had the privilege to experience these past 2 years. &nbsp;And more importantly, we have friends that will stay here for at least another year.<br /><br />As I was typing this I received a call from our sitemate Tim Jenkins. &nbsp;He will be the only volunteer in Arkhangai until the incoming trainees get placed. &nbsp;He used to tell us all the time that he's not sure how he feels about being left alone. &nbsp;He used to joke that we should stay to keep him company. &nbsp;And when he realized that we were really leaving he would just randomly quote the phrase "one man walks alone". &nbsp;But his phone call this morning was to tell me the following, "last night I realized that it won't be 'one man walks alone' when that man has the spirit of his friends with him all the time".<br /><br />Our time here is coming to an end, but I hope that the spirit of what we've done here in Mongolia continues to live on. &nbsp;And I hope that our friends, of every nationality, know that Mongolia will continue to be a part of our memories for the rest of our lives. &nbsp;So it is with a mix of sadness, hope, joy, and amazement that I am saying goodbye to our relatively short time in Mongolia.Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-14801681829033079232011-07-18T16:30:00.000+08:002011-07-18T16:30:25.258+08:00Blowtorching Marmot<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark</span><br /><br />I might as well warn you up front...if you don't like seeing or hearing about small animals being prepared as a meal, don't bother to watch or read on. &nbsp;Though really these animals had been dead for awhile, it's still a rather "uncivilized" form of food prep. &nbsp;But hey, they're still considered a delicacy...and it takes a long time to prepare them. &nbsp;My staff considered it mandatory that we get one last taste on this most recent trip to Blue Lake. &nbsp;I know we've talked about having marmot in the past, but this time I decided to take some video of the preparation.<br /><br />First, the heads are cut off and innards are removed. &nbsp;The choice pieces of "innards" are then placed back inside, along with a handful of onion. &nbsp;Then you take stones the size of baseballs that have been heating in the coals of a fire and stuff them down inside until the animal is "full". &nbsp;Tie off the neck. &nbsp;These hot rocks serve to cook the meat from the inside out...then the outside is cooked using the following technique (enjoy the "barbarity"!):<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EnSV8Ng4Hd0" width="425"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xMcPDKF9QAs" width="425"></iframe></div>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-83728879291248243772011-07-17T19:36:00.000+08:002011-07-17T19:36:40.519+08:00Хөх Нуур (Blue Lake)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark</span><br /><br />Kara and I just returned from a 3 day trip to Hukh Nuur (Blue Lake) here in Arkhangai. &nbsp;We were told it's not a very common trip for foreigners to take, other than on horseback, and we soon figured out why. &nbsp;Between the massive boulders, rivers that were easily 3-4 ft deep in spots, and the absolute middle-of-nowhere location, it's not an easy trek to make no matter what form of transportation you have.<br /><br />It was beautiful countryside we passed through, and other than the massive number of flies and&nbsp;mosquitoes, it was great to be outside sleeping in tents and walking through such untouched land. &nbsp;There were 15 of us that went on the trip - it was partly a summer getaway, a thank you to some of my staff, and partly a goodbye trip for Kara and I. &nbsp;We swam in the rivers, cooked over an open fire for every meal, shared traditional meals as well as some of the more rare ones (marmot!), and generally baked in the 80 degree sunshine!<br /><br />My staff presented me with a couple of gifts. &nbsp;First, they gave me a signed certificate from the governor of Arkhangai acknowledging the past 2 years of work I've done here. &nbsp;Then as a gift from all of the staff members I've worked with I was presented with a blue "hadak" (symbolic blue cloth) and a brass cup or "ayag" that is presently being engraved with a short message. &nbsp;In return I gave a short speech, mentioning some of my favorite memories of each of my staff members and then concluded by giving them a photobook with pictures of memories from the past 2 years.<br /><br />As expected this trip reminded us rather starkly of all the things we find beautiful and fascinating about Mongolia and it's people...but it also reminds us of some of the hardships we/they face on a daily basis. &nbsp;We have learned to have an incredible level of patience in this country - sometimes because "waiting" will bring about the best moments, but other times the "waiting" is simply not worth it in our minds. &nbsp;But that's ok. &nbsp;In the end, we have the memories to look back on...and of course the photos:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eI4eBM1l6FQ?hl=en&amp;fs=1" width="425"></iframe><br /><i>(no sound, only pictures)</i></div>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-14152926912387260362011-07-13T22:40:00.000+08:002011-07-13T22:40:00.459+08:00More Naadam - photos/videoWe figured we might as well give you as much audio/visual stimulation as possible. &nbsp;Here is a photo slideshow of the 2011 Naadam festival in Arkhangai set to some really cool Mongolian music by the band Altan Urag. &nbsp;<i>Make sure to have your speakers on for each of the following videos.</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wohng2TvEvw" width="425"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">If you would like to see the individual photos used in the slideshow and read a few more descriptive captions for each please check out Kara's FB photo album <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150326650460729.383081.504170728&amp;l=c72523a5d9">"Naadam 2011"</a>.</span></div><br />Also, here is a video of a dance during the opening ceremonies. &nbsp;The quality is poor and it's only about a minute of the full dance, but essentially what you're seeing is a large group of choreographed women dancing with 6 small bowls stacked on their heads. &nbsp;The dance involves them taking them off, putting them back on, spinning around, moving all over the place...and obviously NOT dropping any of the bowls.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/44CviaAf5HY?hl=en&amp;fs=1" width="425"></iframe></div><br />And lastly, here's a quick video of the final 4 wrestlers prepping for their matches by walking up to the flagpole, waving their arms in the traditional eagle dance, and basically offering thanks/respect to Mongolia.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/H6102zfQVwk?hl=en&amp;fs=1" width="425"></iframe></div><br />In just a few short hours, Kara and I will be traveling with 20+ of my counterparts to Blue Lake for a 3 day retreat/camping trip to celebrate our work over the past 2 years. &nbsp;Upon our return, we'll only have 2 short days left in Arkhangai. &nbsp;Hopefully we'll have some beautiful pictures to upload following this final excursion as well.Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-76723846710332943992011-07-11T11:17:00.000+08:002011-07-11T11:17:51.828+08:00Mongolian Wrestling - videoby Mark<br /><br />I wanted to get these up on the blog because they are just too entertaining. &nbsp;We're right in the middle of the 3 day Naadam Festival in Arkhangai, and we've recently witnessed two Americans take on the Mongolian men in wrestling. &nbsp;Both of these men were named Tim. &nbsp;One is our sitemate, the other is a visitor from the States who is writing a book on wrestling traditions in other cultures. &nbsp;This first video is of our sitemate Tim getting thrown down by a rather large Mongolian man. &nbsp;Needless to say, he lost his match in the 1st round. &nbsp;(Sorry the quality is so poor!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4ABnQi36LJ0" width="425"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">The second video is of the other Tim...he manages to take down one of the largest Mongolians on the field. &nbsp;After a few minutes of holding each other, we managed to capture video of the takedown. &nbsp;It's quite impressive. And really just a great move. &nbsp;Enjoy.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bgiZMc12ipU" width="425"></iframe></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We'll try to post more pictures and video in the coming days. &nbsp;Hopefully...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-62531297518360868172011-07-01T15:25:00.000+08:002011-07-01T15:25:22.431+08:00Tourism Marketing Trainings<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">by Mark<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's obviously been much too long since I last wrote (about 2 months!)...however, I have an excuse. &nbsp;I've actually been working! &nbsp;Well, traveling for work is a more appropriate description. &nbsp;A few months back when I realized that my grant funded unique business competition was going to be completed by May, I thought to myself "you should plan some sort of work for June so that you're not 'bored' at work during your last few weeks in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region>". &nbsp;I decided to push myself to do two more trainings for the tourism industry of Arkhangai - this time focusing on marketing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So I told my staff that I wanted to travel to Tariat and Tsenker soums (if you remember from previous posts these are two of the tourist hot-spots of Arkhangai) to meet with some of the managers/staff of the ger camps. &nbsp;I also decided that I wanted to bring along two additional local trainers - preferably one that has been working with me for awhile as well as another "newbie" who might like to see how I lead/facilitate trainings for these groups. &nbsp;You know "capacity building" and all that good stuff! &nbsp;My goal was to lead a 3-4 hour session on the 4P's of marketing as it pertains to the Arkhangai tourism industry, gather some feedback, do some pre- and post-testing, and pass out some materials (brochures/posters) we'd created for the businesses involved in the<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.travelarkhangai.com/">www.travelarkhangai.com</a><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>project.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but I did want to mention that we learned a lot from the first training that we implemented in the second training. &nbsp;The results were much better. &nbsp;In fact, our first stop (Tariat) had the pre- and post- test results both equal exactly 61%. &nbsp;There are multiple factors for this that I won't go into, but we pinpointed them and a few days later when we were in Tsenker we had pre-tests at 67% and post-test results at 86%!! &nbsp;We had 23 participants from 14 different companies attend in total. &nbsp;Overall I'd say it was a success, and if nothing else, it was a really fun time for me and my staff as these were my final soum trainings.</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nOtrRPXf8R8/Tg1oaNn586I/AAAAAAAAAlI/jASxfoEGOhU/s1600/Picture+528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nOtrRPXf8R8/Tg1oaNn586I/AAAAAAAAAlI/jASxfoEGOhU/s320/Picture+528.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had our training in Tariat inside one of the gers - we split the group into two teams. &nbsp;Here I'm getting feedback from one team on how the tourism industry has been utilizing marketing techniques.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JN9hcIu2PH0/Tg1octdK_LI/AAAAAAAAAlM/p59pxk4pkmk/s1600/Picture+549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JN9hcIu2PH0/Tg1octdK_LI/AAAAAAAAAlM/p59pxk4pkmk/s320/Picture+549.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here the other team is presenting after our "activity". &nbsp;I had the two teams initially write at the top of the paper a fake company name. &nbsp;Then my two assistants grabbed the paper and swapped them with the other team's paper. &nbsp;Now taking what the other team wrote, the new team had to write what product that company sold. &nbsp;We swapped after each topic was written about - pricing, target markets, ways to promote the products, etc. &nbsp;The final presentation of the "company" that your team was left with was quite entertaining. &nbsp;It was all done to show how marketing plans need to evolve as more information comes to light.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-62vSh1fVWgA/Tg1ofUVisOI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/sC7_TSBPk0Q/s1600/Picture+553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-62vSh1fVWgA/Tg1ofUVisOI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/sC7_TSBPk0Q/s320/Picture+553.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The training group in Tariat. &nbsp;Here we had 1 representative from 10 different ger camps.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wjkEH3uyIHs/Tg1oiI0okBI/AAAAAAAAAlU/1kGrU9bOvbk/s1600/Picture+563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wjkEH3uyIHs/Tg1oiI0okBI/AAAAAAAAAlU/1kGrU9bOvbk/s320/Picture+563.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afterward we decided to go fishing in White Lake (that's my driver Tsogoo) - a mere 100 meters from the training site.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CkecotzQygs/Tg1oksKjS3I/AAAAAAAAAlY/qQ-JAI2QwrI/s1600/Picture+566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CkecotzQygs/Tg1oksKjS3I/AAAAAAAAAlY/qQ-JAI2QwrI/s320/Picture+566.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you like our band's album cover?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--6FZYYvFecE/Tg1on2CCIgI/AAAAAAAAAlc/LU49IaYCaAA/s1600/Picture+608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--6FZYYvFecE/Tg1on2CCIgI/AAAAAAAAAlc/LU49IaYCaAA/s320/Picture+608.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were my two local trainers, Khorlo and Nowroo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--v7f-X2uiCI/Tg1oszAKlhI/AAAAAAAAAlg/TzfHxlt9nV8/s1600/Picture+633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--v7f-X2uiCI/Tg1oszAKlhI/AAAAAAAAAlg/TzfHxlt9nV8/s320/Picture+633.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A trip out to Tariat isn't complete without the "gorge" photo - I believe I now have one of these during every season in Mongolia.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ht72CPLaLa0/Tg1ovklJhSI/AAAAAAAAAlk/n8prTRKUmkY/s1600/Picture+644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ht72CPLaLa0/Tg1ovklJhSI/AAAAAAAAAlk/n8prTRKUmkY/s320/Picture+644.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same training at Tsenker soums' Duut Resort. &nbsp;Different feel being inside a gigantic log cabin resort instead of a ger.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNvyC-oIlOE/Tg1ozCmMzJI/AAAAAAAAAlo/9qXYLIqcXJ8/s1600/Picture+655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNvyC-oIlOE/Tg1ozCmMzJI/AAAAAAAAAlo/9qXYLIqcXJ8/s320/Picture+655.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I have the one group drawing a price/quality matrix for a company/product of their choosing. &nbsp;I learned some valuable insight - for one, this group believes that Mercedes Benz makes a low quality, low price product. &nbsp;This led to all sorts of fun conversations and attempted explanations!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WPbCpp1F7lU/Tg1o1zrVtqI/AAAAAAAAAls/lZ_z691g8sU/s1600/Picture+665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WPbCpp1F7lU/Tg1o1zrVtqI/AAAAAAAAAls/lZ_z691g8sU/s320/Picture+665.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Tsenker we had 13 attendees from all 4 camps in the area. &nbsp;One group sent 6 of their young staff members for the training. &nbsp;And they were all quite smart. &nbsp;I was thrilled.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G37YrztCM-c/Tg1o4SWlByI/AAAAAAAAAlw/rrZa6d5OLyQ/s1600/Picture+676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G37YrztCM-c/Tg1o4SWlByI/AAAAAAAAAlw/rrZa6d5OLyQ/s320/Picture+676.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This time we decided volleyball would be our relaxation/sport following the training. &nbsp;It's hard to tell but what appears to be beautiful grass around our feet is actually probably 30% wild onions! &nbsp;They were so good. &nbsp;You could just snap the greens off and chew on it while you played. &nbsp;Of course we all joked that I wouldn't be able to kiss any of the pretty girls afterward.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eop9z2esfdE/Tg1o9K_u2iI/AAAAAAAAAl0/-pKxphEi_NQ/s1600/Picture+708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eop9z2esfdE/Tg1o9K_u2iI/AAAAAAAAAl0/-pKxphEi_NQ/s320/Picture+708.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way back after all our work was done, we took a different route. &nbsp;After coming up over a hill, we found ourselves staring at some of the largest fields of wild flowers I've seen here. &nbsp;This particular part was all orange but others were all white, or all yellow, and they'd just blend one area right into the other. &nbsp;This is us pretending to look comfortable as thousands of bugs attacked!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4-sHaQCcxiA/Tg1oWGLd3WI/AAAAAAAAAlE/kKm2P1sl8ug/s1600/Picture+712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4-sHaQCcxiA/Tg1oWGLd3WI/AAAAAAAAAlE/kKm2P1sl8ug/s320/Picture+712.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And why not one more flower photo! &nbsp;We took dozens. &nbsp;This was actually us jumping toward the camera but it took too late and instead it appears that we've all just fallen down. &nbsp;Needless to say, we enjoy our time on these trips and I'm going to miss hanging out with my staff at trainings.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-64439639686498879512011-06-19T12:46:00.002+08:002011-06-19T13:47:22.494+08:00Life latelyby Kara<br /><br /><i>A spastic update on life lately... </i><br /><br />We've got a little more than a month left in Mongolia - that's it! It's crazy. I haven't fully mentally prepared myself for returning to the US. I've been so busy lately helping train the new group of volunteers that just arrived that I haven't had much time to sit down and think about all my own stuff.<br /><br />Training the new volunteers has been fun (and tiring). It's fun to see all their enthusiasm and excitement. Until talking to them I had completely forgotten what it was like to arrive in Mongolia for the first time. It makes me realize how comfortable I've become with many aspects of life here and how normal so many things seem. It's hard trying to balance giving them an optimistic, yet realistic view of what their Peace Corps service might be like, but I'm trying. The worse part about training is that we spend 4 to 5 hours a day commuting from our office to the site their training is at. One day last week we had a tire blowout which extended our time on the road even longer. Not fun. BUT I do get to drive past herds of camels everyday, which still doesn't fail to excite me.<br /><br />Though most of my mental effort is focused on training, I am thinking about life in the US a bit. I register for classes next week (!) and I'm job-searching. I'm hoping to find a part-time research assistant position at the university. These positions include a paycheck PLUS complete tuition coverage. Obviously that would be awesome and would ensure I wouldn't have to take out any student loans, but of course, these positions are highly coveted. I got really excited about one position that I applied for last week and just got an email from those in charge of hiring asking us applicants to be patient, as they received over 100 applications. Yikes. 100. Those are some tough odds.<br /><br />Anyway, that's all I've got for this quick update for now. I don't even have any pictures to upload because I'm at an internet cafe and don't have access to my photos right now. Sorry! I'll be finishing up my portion of training next week then heading back home to Arkhangai for the remainder of our time in Mongolia. While in Arkhangai I'll be helping with a 4H exchange program that's bringing some American teenagers to Arkhangai to live with host families. We'll probably take them to my work's summer camp. We've also got Naadam (horse-racing, archery, wrestling) and then of course saying goodbye to everybody, packing up our stuff, giving away lots of stuff, etc. Crazy! Time is flying!!Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-51461486554158530282011-06-12T17:03:00.049+08:002011-06-12T17:30:19.362+08:00Health Fairby Kara<br /><br />Saturday, May 21, 2011 was Arkhangai Aimag’s First Annual Health Fair! This event was made possible thanks to funding we received from the Millennium Challenge Corporation and from wonderful people in America who donated to the cause. A big thanks goes out to those who donated, particularly Mark’s parents.<br /><br />We’d been talking about this fair with our counterparts for months and months but as things often happen here in Mongolia, much of the planning came down to the last minute. We were scrambling the week of the event to get everything ready. But in the end, the event happened and went pretty well. <br /><br />The event included 4 main events:<br /><br /><strong>1) 5K Community Walk and Run</strong><br />This ended up being a little less than 5K, as we just used a course the PE teachers already knew about and could easily explain to everybody. It also just ended up being a run, rather than a big community walk, but that’s okay. We had adults and students participate (separately) and it was a lot of fun. And everybody who participated got a t-shirt custom printed for the event!<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bvk444kA9Io/TfSBPtKokII/AAAAAAAAMr0/ZRUFGTj89HI/s1600/SAM_2632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bvk444kA9Io/TfSBPtKokII/AAAAAAAAMr0/ZRUFGTj89HI/s320/SAM_2632.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lining up to sign up for the 5K. It was&nbsp;all about matching track suits.</td></tr></tbody></table>﻿ <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6u_SStHW4B4/TfSBoQYqpcI/AAAAAAAAMr4/zJtTMNs1jUg/s1600/SAM_2646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6u_SStHW4B4/TfSBoQYqpcI/AAAAAAAAMr4/zJtTMNs1jUg/s320/SAM_2646.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pointing out the course</td></tr></tbody></table>﻿<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kLvmlJtqVMI/TfSB-wd-b8I/AAAAAAAAMr8/6of_8yj9RBQ/s1600/SAM_2649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kLvmlJtqVMI/TfSB-wd-b8I/AAAAAAAAMr8/6of_8yj9RBQ/s320/SAM_2649.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the adults are off!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-778LvoemNc4/TfSCX5TyN_I/AAAAAAAAMsA/GQY0tsW-Z20/s1600/SAM_2652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-778LvoemNc4/TfSCX5TyN_I/AAAAAAAAMsA/GQY0tsW-Z20/s320/SAM_2652.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the race involved avoiding yaks. Yak-attack = disqualification</td></tr></tbody></table>﻿ <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X7gfRuLf7MI/TfSCwsh7TmI/AAAAAAAAMsE/ygN8zo6J5cI/s1600/SAM_2660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X7gfRuLf7MI/TfSCwsh7TmI/AAAAAAAAMsE/ygN8zo6J5cI/s320/SAM_2660.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finish line</td></tr></tbody></table>﻿﻿<br /><strong>2) Poster Contest</strong><br />We invited students to submit posters that were related to the theme of tobacco and alcohol use and the effects the use of these substances can have on people’s lives. The submissions were really great. The winning poster will be printed on a bigger poster and displayed in town.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l5hJAzyy4E0/TfSDV7C9INI/AAAAAAAAMsI/JTbVL1YG4kA/s1600/SAM_2699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l5hJAzyy4E0/TfSDV7C9INI/AAAAAAAAMsI/JTbVL1YG4kA/s320/SAM_2699.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the winners</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gBm8KwLdkzs/TfSDgq6_d8I/AAAAAAAAMsM/kLTL3LjsDgg/s1600/SAM_2702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gBm8KwLdkzs/TfSDgq6_d8I/AAAAAAAAMsM/kLTL3LjsDgg/s320/SAM_2702.JPG" t8="true" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one was pretty, and supposedly it was supposed to represent an alcohol and tobacco free life, but it was a bit of a stretch. It also looked like they just copied it from a book. But it was so pretty...</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIilN4QYlKY/TfSD3EyRblI/AAAAAAAAMsQ/AwmJrA6zoxk/s1600/SAM_2704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIilN4QYlKY/TfSD3EyRblI/AAAAAAAAMsQ/AwmJrA6zoxk/s320/SAM_2704.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ox5KuZquyjA/TfSEBBbuAYI/AAAAAAAAMsU/Up7nX3Il-mA/s1600/SAM_2705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ox5KuZquyjA/TfSEBBbuAYI/AAAAAAAAMsU/Up7nX3Il-mA/s320/SAM_2705.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uaz3g3zskWw/TfSEKOH4M2I/AAAAAAAAMsY/I88I-CVqFk4/s1600/SAM_2706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uaz3g3zskWw/TfSEKOH4M2I/AAAAAAAAMsY/I88I-CVqFk4/s320/SAM_2706.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><strong>3) Nutrition Trivia Contest</strong><br />Students were invited to participate in a trivia contest about nutrition and healthy eating. All 10th grade students have learned about this material in lessons throughout the school year. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FZDK5MnK4ko/TfSEXbSYtnI/AAAAAAAAMsg/ZD9SuB1ck-Y/s1600/SAM_2714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FZDK5MnK4ko/TfSEXbSYtnI/AAAAAAAAMsg/ZD9SuB1ck-Y/s320/SAM_2714.JPG" t8="true" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--0pHmYWTNqg/TfSEpsLIPqI/AAAAAAAAMsk/ac66sNRODfY/s1600/SAM_2723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--0pHmYWTNqg/TfSEpsLIPqI/AAAAAAAAMsk/ac66sNRODfY/s320/SAM_2723.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><strong>4) Cooking Contest</strong><br />All schools were invited to participate in a healthy cooking contest. The school cooks were asked to involve students in this as well. This was the least successful part of the event, as fewer schools turned out than we had hoped. The date of the entire Health Fair was changed from May 14 to May 21 at the last minute and some of the schools had prepared to compete on May 14 and were unable to participate on May 21. Though our counterparts were able to deal with so many aspects of last minute changes, this is one part that suffered. Hopefully they can do this next year with fewer last minute changes and better communication to all schools. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ejDGRc1y0m4/TfSE3GmwXjI/AAAAAAAAMso/5-SrqXWbBrc/s1600/SAM_2663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ejDGRc1y0m4/TfSE3GmwXjI/AAAAAAAAMso/5-SrqXWbBrc/s320/SAM_2663.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KbcZ7IeqVkM/TfSFKCbjKVI/AAAAAAAAMss/y5PJ64nDYzw/s1600/SAM_2672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KbcZ7IeqVkM/TfSFKCbjKVI/AAAAAAAAMss/y5PJ64nDYzw/s320/SAM_2672.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AygbBlc1jAk/TfSFWGyw4TI/AAAAAAAAMsw/wciLmrz7IQo/s1600/SAM_2674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AygbBlc1jAk/TfSFWGyw4TI/AAAAAAAAMsw/wciLmrz7IQo/s320/SAM_2674.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-avpVhX4lVwM/TfSFpgoU1FI/AAAAAAAAMs0/HGcRiIHtyyA/s1600/SAM_2696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-avpVhX4lVwM/TfSFpgoU1FI/AAAAAAAAMs0/HGcRiIHtyyA/s320/SAM_2696.JPG" t8="true" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Wt463tJDVI/TfSF3GNc59I/AAAAAAAAMs4/pCTrrfIqWeY/s1600/SAM_2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Wt463tJDVI/TfSF3GNc59I/AAAAAAAAMs4/pCTrrfIqWeY/s320/SAM_2756.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Event planners and winning cooks</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Overall the event was a lot of fun. Again, thanks so much to our donors for help making this happen! We hope it’ll happen again next year too.Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-75655277869407030972011-05-19T12:30:00.000+08:002011-05-19T12:30:54.356+08:00Transitionsby Kara<br /><br />Though it's hard for Mark and I to believe, the end of our 2 years of service is coming to an end soon! We received official approval from our Peace Corps Mongolia Country Director to conclude our service and fly home <b>July 24</b>!!!<br /><br />However, before that day comes, we still have a lot to do. Mark is busy finishing up projects at work, including the final reports for his unique business and unique product competition, training his counterparts on how to maintain the <a href="http://www.travelarkhangai.com/">Travel Arkhangai website</a>, and a couple more tourism trainings for local businesses.<br /><br />I'm heading off to the city of Darkhan next week to take part in a two-week training of trainers. I've been asked to help train the incoming group of Community Youth Development volunteers. This is what Mark did last year after we returned from vacation. I'll be gone about 5 weeks total, spending 2 weeks preparing the trainings and 2 1/2 weeks actually doing the training. Although this means time apart from Mark (and our cat Mishka!) I'm looking forward to a change of pace and a change of scenery. Things at my work have slowed down a lot for me lately and I'm not very busy. If you know me, you know I like to be busy. Plus, it'll be fun to see a fresh group of people newly embarking upon their experience here in Mongolia. Mark is planning to try and come visit me in Darkhan sometime in the middle of my training too, hopefully around the time of our anniversary.<br /><br />After I return from training I'll spend some time at my organization's summer camp. Then we'll celebrate Naadam (horse racing, archery, and wrestling summer festival) here in Arkhangai, hand out some more helmets to child jockeys, and after, pack up our apartment! We'll head into UB a few days before our official Close of Service date to do gobs of paperwork and medical check-ups.<br /><br />It's going to be a little odd and possibly anti-climatic because PCVs from our group are departing at different dates throughout the summer, so there's not exactly one big good-bye party. In fact, we've already realized we've seen some people for the last time in Mongolia and didn't even do a proper goodbye. We've already started trying to convince people to come visit us in Seattle and hope to visit others in the future too. In fact, some PCVs are already planning a two-year reunion in New Orleans where at least 4-5 PCVs from our group are planning to live -- a few of them planning to live together even!<br /><br />To make our return home a little sweeter we've also planned a short vacation in San Francisco on our way home! We're visiting one of my best friends and her husband there. And I've never been to San Francisco so while they're busy working during the days, we're going to explore the city. Then, I'll be home in time to spend my birthday at home with our friends and families!<br /><br />I'm not sure what kinds of photos to include on a blog like this, but a blog post is boring without any, so here are some from events as of late.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-roQ1XVQtqEw/TdOPnz89abI/AAAAAAAAMrA/c79Q-qNXFv0/s1600/Ondor-ulaan.tif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="60" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-roQ1XVQtqEw/TdOPnz89abI/AAAAAAAAMrA/c79Q-qNXFv0/s320/Ondor-ulaan.tif.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ondor-ulaan soum, about 2-3 hours away from where we live. Mark visited it last week with the national Mercy Corps director.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-siREc43AgN4/TdOP5z1KwJI/AAAAAAAAMrE/0ok0PQ1po-k/s1600/SAM_2244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-siREc43AgN4/TdOP5z1KwJI/AAAAAAAAMrE/0ok0PQ1po-k/s320/SAM_2244.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulgan Mountain. This image is used on everything and seen everywhere throughout our town so it's a bit tired to us, but I have to admit, it is pretty. It's a very short walk away from our apartment.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V9KHn4o_TJw/TdOQImQ5mCI/AAAAAAAAMrI/l_2N51oRtrE/s1600/SAM_2448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V9KHn4o_TJw/TdOQImQ5mCI/AAAAAAAAMrI/l_2N51oRtrE/s320/SAM_2448.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then there's the occasional dumpings of spring snow. Ugh. This was last week.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gMXFrYiaZOI/TdOQScT-znI/AAAAAAAAMrM/ZtC-x8WchCg/s1600/SAM_2480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gMXFrYiaZOI/TdOQScT-znI/AAAAAAAAMrM/ZtC-x8WchCg/s320/SAM_2480.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I held my last Zumba fitness class this week! The girls are super cute and I'm going to miss this them. Two of them have come to almost every single class since October so I made them certificates and gave them some jump ropes as gifts (to keep up with their strict exercise routine over the summer). For our last class we ended up doing about 10 minutes of Zumba and spent the rest of the time taking pictures and eating cookies. :)</td></tr></tbody></table>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-59527146436445914652011-05-15T17:59:00.001+08:002011-05-19T12:14:22.570+08:00Picnicby Kara<br /><br />Last weekend Mark and I talked to our sitemates Sarah and Tim and decided that Saturday would be a great day to head to the river for a picnic. The weather was supposed to get bad on Sunday, but Saturday was supposed to be 61 degrees. So we met up around 2:00 and a couple of Mongolian friends joined us. It started out alright and we tried convincing ourselves it was a nice spring day - Tim was wearing shorts, Sarah a dress and flipflops. But then, a rare thing started happening - it started to rain... "Oh, I'm sure it'll pass over..."<br /><br />After walking for at least an hour we arrived at the river and started eating. The men, in an effort to show us their skills, made a fire, for which we were all very thankful as the temperature started to drop...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivuqNpNwLAs/Tcjt-7y_BjI/AAAAAAAAMpQ/Cn8uKfyR0Ac/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivuqNpNwLAs/Tcjt-7y_BjI/AAAAAAAAMpQ/Cn8uKfyR0Ac/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4eNMwXtFvb0/TcjuB6ot2tI/AAAAAAAAMpU/bFWBHXspO04/s1600/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4eNMwXtFvb0/TcjuB6ot2tI/AAAAAAAAMpU/bFWBHXspO04/s320/Picture2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jGtxyE9Rj-c/TcjuM57MiUI/AAAAAAAAMpY/scinnzcXCO0/s1600/Picture3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jGtxyE9Rj-c/TcjuM57MiUI/AAAAAAAAMpY/scinnzcXCO0/s320/Picture3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look how strong they are!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w0iJ04w4GIQ/TcjuYIFTgeI/AAAAAAAAMpc/rwEIrIfZFEE/s1600/Picture4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w0iJ04w4GIQ/TcjuYIFTgeI/AAAAAAAAMpc/rwEIrIfZFEE/s320/Picture4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Success!</td></tr></tbody></table>After eating, Mark and Tim discussed the best method for fishing. Tim had brought his fishing pole, some hooks he had spent the morning searching for at our local market, and a ping pong ball for a bobber, but the selection of bait was lacking. Bread? Corn? Canned&nbsp;mackerel? He tried his best, but unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfqu2upFhQg/TcjuijtmRJI/AAAAAAAAMpg/bjTDqHwY7pE/s1600/Picture5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfqu2upFhQg/TcjuijtmRJI/AAAAAAAAMpg/bjTDqHwY7pE/s320/Picture5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />After enjoying some smores and delicious cake that Sarah made, we realized the increasingly steady pour of rain was not letting up and we should probably head back. Sarah and Tim were jokingly scolded by our Mongolian friends for not dressing appropriately, while Mark and I were praised for our preparedness. I pulled out two shirts, a scarf, hat, and gloves from our backpack for the walk home. Unfortunately, the weather kept getting worse and worse. Poor Sarah and Tim were miserable and cold to the bone. Mark and I were chilled too, but not quite as bad. Tim said on the walk home, which took about an hour and 15 minutes, that this was the coldest he'd ever been in Mongolia! Here's a picture, but it's kind of impossible to show how cold we felt. (And let's hope Sarah doesn't read our blog because she'd hate to know this picture of her, with Tim's socks on under flip-flops and Mark's huge coat draped over her, was floating around the interweb.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmK3OPtkqzc/Tcjt8FQor1I/AAAAAAAAMpM/ro5DZZp6cxs/s1600/Picture6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmK3OPtkqzc/Tcjt8FQor1I/AAAAAAAAMpM/ro5DZZp6cxs/s320/Picture6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />All in all it was a fun day and definitely a memorable one!Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-90844070998130681932011-05-10T15:05:00.000+08:002011-05-10T15:05:36.991+08:00Close of Service Conferenceby Kara<br /><br />Every year Peace Corps holds a Close of Service Conference for all of the volunteers finishing up their second year of service. Our conference was April 27-29. Out of the original 69 volunteers who came to Mongolia we had 48 in attendance at the conference. If you're wondering, that's not too bad of a rate. I've heard that overall, Mongolia has a better retention rate than other PC countries, despite what you might think. Maybe we come to Mongolia with lower expectations than those PCVs who end up Fiji and think life is going to be a beautiful paradise everyday. (As I write this, it is May 10 and there's a huge snow storm occurring outside.)<br /><br />Anyway, the conference was a time for us to spend time with our fellow PCVs, reflect upon our experiences together, and talk about post-Peace Corps life. There were some boring sessions and some interesting ones and fun activities in the evenings. It was great to get to spend a few solid days with all the PCVs. And it was interesting to see who has changed a lot, stayed exactly the same, or just changed somewhat (in most cases, for the better).<br /><br />Hear are some highlights!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DePmoHzOaY/TcjDAaoPZ_I/AAAAAAAAMok/v95bsLa5mbs/s1600/226221_642867426753_39207611_34569925_166837_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DePmoHzOaY/TcjDAaoPZ_I/AAAAAAAAMok/v95bsLa5mbs/s320/226221_642867426753_39207611_34569925_166837_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 1: The ger camp we stayed at. <br />It was warm and sunny and beautiful.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v7l4kUBl7xA/TcjDWM6V5gI/AAAAAAAAMoo/fA1yTq_9oLg/s1600/228227_643343807083_39207611_34579151_1608554_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v7l4kUBl7xA/TcjDWM6V5gI/AAAAAAAAMoo/fA1yTq_9oLg/s320/228227_643343807083_39207611_34579151_1608554_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And less than 48 hours later we woke up to 6 inches of snow and freezing cold weather. <br />It continued to snow the entire day and the guys even had to get out of our bus on our way out of the camp to help push it.&nbsp;Typical spring weather in Mongolia.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j82Jn3uPeyA/TcjEDQ4HzdI/AAAAAAAAMos/a3COGjUdMjE/s1600/COS2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j82Jn3uPeyA/TcjEDQ4HzdI/AAAAAAAAMos/a3COGjUdMjE/s320/COS2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our evening activities was a cooking contest. I was smart and joined a team with amazing cooks &nbsp;- that's us! We made fish tacos, beef tacos, (I made a million tortillas), two kinds of salsa, a peanut noodle dish (we had to make a Mongolian dish with at twist) and bananas dipped in chocolate and coconut for dessert. It was delicious and all made completely from scratch!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM8cXeHvuR0/TcjF8hZ4LxI/AAAAAAAAMpA/rSeD7oJbO5A/s1600/221871_642863739143_39207611_34569892_606270_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM8cXeHvuR0/TcjF8hZ4LxI/AAAAAAAAMpA/rSeD7oJbO5A/s320/221871_642863739143_39207611_34569892_606270_n.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlee and I</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcFw9fzBnLI/TcjGIu_h93I/AAAAAAAAMpE/UlNIe0OKEyw/s1600/228176_642862676273_39207611_34569851_8335301_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcFw9fzBnLI/TcjGIu_h93I/AAAAAAAAMpE/UlNIe0OKEyw/s320/228176_642862676273_39207611_34569851_8335301_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaos in the kitchen.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAhTsUuy2_A/TcjEtbro2qI/AAAAAAAAMow/G3Y3d_ZEFuo/s1600/COS3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAhTsUuy2_A/TcjEtbro2qI/AAAAAAAAMow/G3Y3d_ZEFuo/s1600/COS3.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WE WON!!! The judges joined us for this photo-op.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pe7LYxynCxc/TcjFnqwwwVI/AAAAAAAAMo0/qe9wM8WaWnQ/s1600/SAM_2320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pe7LYxynCxc/TcjFnqwwwVI/AAAAAAAAMo0/qe9wM8WaWnQ/s320/SAM_2320.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three married men playing Monopoly deal</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mX2CE5gfogA/TcjhsHJCK4I/AAAAAAAAMpI/8D1F87SJOhg/s1600/COS1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mX2CE5gfogA/TcjhsHJCK4I/AAAAAAAAMpI/8D1F87SJOhg/s320/COS1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the PCVs! Mark and I are in the back and you can't actually see my face in the photo...</td></tr></tbody></table>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-29479330144156596462011-05-04T15:41:00.000+08:002011-05-04T15:41:44.966+08:00Promoting Unique Business Ideas<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark</span><br /><br />What started as an idea last August came to fruition in the past couple of weeks. &nbsp;Myself and counterparts from three different organizations that I work with here in Mongolia developed and launched "Arkhangai's 1st Annual Unique Business/Product Idea Competition". &nbsp;The aim being to foster an environment in our entire province that is open and welcoming for creative ideas to expand the types of businesses in the marketplace.<br /><br />We opened up the application season March 1st with a goal of receiving 30+ applications. &nbsp;After advertising via television, flyers, banners, and newspaper we closed the application period on March 31st. &nbsp;We had received an incredible 56 applications from 15 different towns! &nbsp;But we only had money/space enough for 10 applicants to attend the training portion of the competition. &nbsp;We had to rate all of the applications so that we could choose the ten best to attend this second part of the competition - a week-long Business Plan/Proposal Development Training that would be mandatory for any applicant that was chosen. &nbsp;During the week, the trainees would be given all the basic knowledge through lecture, projects, guest speakers, and multiple skilled trainers to develop their full business plan - including 10+ hours of one-on-one work with a consultant who would help them with the financials and other technical aspects of the business plan writing.<br /><br />As an added incentive the ten trainees were in the running for the grand prize: 1,500,000₮ (roughly $1200). &nbsp;But there was a catch...the money wouldn't just be handed to them in cash/check form. &nbsp;Instead, this prize money could only be obtained in the form of re-imbursement for any interest payments made on loans necessary to implement their winning business plan. &nbsp;Meaning, "Winner A" must actually start his business and make interest payments on his loan before he can approach our organization for re-imbursement. &nbsp;<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Some of you may be wondering just how far this money can go. &nbsp;The average loan size needed to implement the business ideas proposed was about 6 million tugriks. &nbsp;The highest bank loan interest rate is currently 1.6% monthly for 24 months. &nbsp;That's a total of 2.3 million tugriks in interest paid using simple interest calculations. &nbsp;So this prize money would cover roughly 65% of the costs associated with obtaining a loan!)</span></i><br /><br />We structured our prize money this way in order to attempt to guarantee results and to see the establishment of our top unique business idea. &nbsp;All but one of our trainees completed their business plan during the training, and three members of my staff rated their proposals using ten different criteria. &nbsp;I just received the final results yesterday. &nbsp;My staff was not able to choose just one winner - so instead we crowned two. &nbsp;The prize money will be split evenly between the two winners. &nbsp;But don't worry, both of the winning proposals only need approximately 3.5 million tugriks in loans to get started. &nbsp;So that prize money should go a long way in recovering their costs!<br /><br />I'm guessing that many of you reading this are wondering what types of ideas were proposed for this competition. &nbsp;Well, I haven't looked at all of the applications that weren't chosen to attend the training...but I know there were ideas for magazine libraries and brown paper bag manufacturing. &nbsp;But I can tell you about the top 10 ideas. &nbsp;Enjoy the count-down:<br /><br />#10 - Planting Chatsargana (small yellow berry used in fruit drinks) in Hairhan soum<br /># 9 - Toilet paper packaging<br /># 8 - Metal smelting for custom iron fence and roofing materials<br /># 7 - Using "yellow" milk to produce ice cream, jams, and candy<br /># 6 - Packaging Airag (fermented mare's milk) for use in ger camps<br /># 5 - Growing fodder for animals in Tsakhir soum<br /># 4 - Manufacturing cotton bags to replace plastic bags used in stores<br /># 3 - Packaging a form of boiled down animal meat product "stock" to be used in winter - I guess you just add water!<br /># 2 - Installation of electronic signs around our provincial center to replace all of the paper information boards - WINNER (most unique yet implementable idea!)<br /># 1 - Manufacture and sale of unique custom leather goods - WINNER (best business plan!)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ilPtiTxovA/TcD6gqUMFbI/AAAAAAAAAkk/rYsKUQQi84U/s1600/SAM_1885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ilPtiTxovA/TcD6gqUMFbI/AAAAAAAAAkk/rYsKUQQi84U/s320/SAM_1885.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was part of the opening ceremony. &nbsp;However, I was unable to lead any of the training sessions due to the fact that mere hours after this photo was taken my translator left for a 2 week trip to Russia.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nBDESS0midI/TcD6qPhPz_I/AAAAAAAAAko/2IkM1yPeRd0/s1600/SAM_1898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nBDESS0midI/TcD6qPhPz_I/AAAAAAAAAko/2IkM1yPeRd0/s320/SAM_1898.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the first activities was to have the trainees draw their unique business idea concept on paper and present it to the class.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MhnvuZ-x4VI/TcD63MK-eQI/AAAAAAAAAks/zCe99420_PQ/s1600/SAM_1925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MhnvuZ-x4VI/TcD63MK-eQI/AAAAAAAAAks/zCe99420_PQ/s320/SAM_1925.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This activity was showing the trainees how to set objectives to meet your goal. &nbsp;They had to get from point A to point B using more than 2 different forms of movement. &nbsp;But they had to tell us how they would do it before they attempted it. &nbsp;(ie. 2 jumps, followed by 6 zigzag steps, followed by 5 hops, etc) This trainee was about to jump a short distance to achieve his goal.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EqljPXcOcl0/TcD7IjsxQzI/AAAAAAAAAkw/amCwOucFbcc/s1600/SAM_1968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EqljPXcOcl0/TcD7IjsxQzI/AAAAAAAAAkw/amCwOucFbcc/s320/SAM_1968.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At any given time we had 4-5 consultants wandering the training room helping people with their writing/planning.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GFmOpJeTl2c/TcD7SOOHJDI/AAAAAAAAAk0/zT7BVm-fToA/s1600/SAM_1988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GFmOpJeTl2c/TcD7SOOHJDI/AAAAAAAAAk0/zT7BVm-fToA/s320/SAM_1988.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the first few days in the classroom, we moved to an Internet cafe in town that let us rent out their computers. &nbsp;Here the trainees put all of their preparations/notes into an actual written business plan (with the assistance of consultants).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MdD3sV5jMo/TcD7k0ouboI/AAAAAAAAAk8/6Vq9uipcggI/s1600/SAM_2257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MdD3sV5jMo/TcD7k0ouboI/AAAAAAAAAk8/6Vq9uipcggI/s320/SAM_2257.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the attendees were given a Certificate for having completed the training. &nbsp;This man happens to be our #1 winner as well.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0GPpYHtmxFk/TcD8uTFSRmI/AAAAAAAAAlA/r0whshLDgxY/s1600/DSC05814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0GPpYHtmxFk/TcD8uTFSRmI/AAAAAAAAAlA/r0whshLDgxY/s320/DSC05814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The picture ended up being a little blurry, but this is the entire staff handing our #2 winner his "Батламж" or "Guarantee" saying he's entitled to 750,000 tugriks in re-imbursement money for being our competition winner!</td></tr></tbody></table>Overall, the entire project was a huge success! &nbsp;Yes, we had to change things as we went...but for the most part we were able to follow our project plan. &nbsp;Thanks to funding from a United States Peace Corps SPA grant and to Mercy Corps Mongolia, and with funding and training assistance from the local NGO's Knowledge Network and Information &amp; Education Center, Arkhangai's 1st Annual Unique Business/Product Idea Competition did happen successfully. &nbsp;Ten different people have full business plans completed that they can take to the bank to receive funding for their ideas, and dozens more people were given the opportunity to express their ideas for what is needed in this aimag. &nbsp;We've already begun talks on how to fund this project in subsequent years. &nbsp;So here's hoping that Arkhangai continues to support the unique ideas of its residents!Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-71619839734620314392011-04-22T10:29:00.000+08:002011-04-22T10:29:11.146+08:00Paper Airplanesby Kara<br /><br />Over the past two years I have been pen pals with a 5th grade class in Woodinville, Wa. They write me letters by hand and send them here and I email them pictures and replies via email. It's been a really fun experience and their questions are awesome - everything from "have you ever been bitten by a yak?" to "do they have Coco Chanel in Mongolia?" They also love asking questions about Mishka (our cat). I think they may want to meet her more than me.<br /><br />In the last batch of letters they sent me some instructions for a paper airplane experiment. They conducted this experiment and wanted me to do the same so we could compare the results. The experiment basically entails making three sets of airplanes and seeing which type hits the target the most. The first one is a regular paper airplane, the second is the same design but with a staple on it, and the third has some extra flaps cut into the back of it.<br /><br />I conducted this experiment this week with two sets of my Zumba kids. They may have been somewhat confused at first about why I was having them make paper airplanes instead of doing our regular Zumba fitness videos, but they loved it. Check out this I put together to meet some of the kiddos and see the fun!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XFmuh9uduog" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N3MuvNinpHw/TbDlelpPHuI/AAAAAAAAMng/cJENRncIvP4/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N3MuvNinpHw/TbDlelpPHuI/AAAAAAAAMng/cJENRncIvP4/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ul7ty4QRkbc/TbDlhqbzAtI/AAAAAAAAMnk/li3n-PJolfc/s1600/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ul7ty4QRkbc/TbDlhqbzAtI/AAAAAAAAMnk/li3n-PJolfc/s320/Picture2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUnR6Pn1IRo/TbDllpHuoEI/AAAAAAAAMno/W-K1Q8zQQMI/s1600/Picture3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUnR6Pn1IRo/TbDllpHuoEI/AAAAAAAAMno/W-K1Q8zQQMI/s320/Picture3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sZDeA9e4jpU/TbDlo4OFUfI/AAAAAAAAMns/HQ_nRxCyxC4/s1600/Picture4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sZDeA9e4jpU/TbDlo4OFUfI/AAAAAAAAMns/HQ_nRxCyxC4/s320/Picture4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-40486030264531993512011-04-11T12:41:00.000+08:002011-04-11T12:41:06.033+08:00Our ViewYesterday I spent the afternoon sitting on our balcony, soaking up the sun, reading, and I have to say, it was delightful. Ever wondered what the view is like from our balcony? Wonder no more. It's of this huge apartment building across from us - beautiful isn't it? (Click on the picture to see a larger version)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X5odDfewgr8/TaKF8G7McgI/AAAAAAAAMmU/3ho6fVT6o60/s1600/View.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X5odDfewgr8/TaKF8G7McgI/AAAAAAAAMmU/3ho6fVT6o60/s640/View.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-64003375318628719352011-04-07T14:49:00.001+08:002011-04-08T10:32:22.268+08:00Spring!by Kara<br /><br />It's officially spring! Spring here means extreme temperature changes, wind, snow, and sun (no rain as of yet). Many Mongolians say they hate it. It tends to be when the most animals die, already weakened from the long winter. Though the rapid, extreme weather changes can be difficult to cope with, I'm just happy for the occasional warm days, seeing as how I don't have to worry about my animal dying. I've also noticed that March-May are busy work months. Once summer hits in June my work shuts down and we spend all our time at summer camp. We've got a Peace Corps Closing of Service Conference at the end of this month in the capital and then I will be helping with training the new volunteers in late May (preparing for training) and early June (actually doing the training). This doesn't leave me with a ton of time left at site! As of today I have 26 more days actually working in my office. Crazy. But I'll have more time with my coworkers at summer camp in late June and July. Mark and I haven't figured out when we're actually coming home, but probably late July or early to mid August.<br /><br />Anyway, here are some pictures showing what I've been up to with work lately.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Soccer!</b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MKlaOsTYY2E/TZ0-6fvfsrI/AAAAAAAAMlc/abbcKCIIPJ8/s1600/SAM_1618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MKlaOsTYY2E/TZ0-6fvfsrI/AAAAAAAAMlc/abbcKCIIPJ8/s320/SAM_1618.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">These are the same kids Tim (our sitemate) and I have been meeting with since the Fall. Our indoor karate class is now an outdoor soccer club!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-akIW4F00hCc/TZ0_YGdRHWI/AAAAAAAAMlg/V7z9ejHFa2Y/s1600/SAM_1623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-akIW4F00hCc/TZ0_YGdRHWI/AAAAAAAAMlg/V7z9ejHFa2Y/s320/SAM_1623.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the background is the school that our friend Sarah, fellow PCV, teaches at.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>English Competitions!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c2lEqpFcFwc/TZ1As38G_3I/AAAAAAAAMlk/st__ISN2b-g/s1600/SAM_1493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c2lEqpFcFwc/TZ1As38G_3I/AAAAAAAAMlk/st__ISN2b-g/s320/SAM_1493.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">English Pyramid: this is a contest us PCVs organized. Students had to study three topics that we chose and wrote about: the Aztecs, the California Gold Rush, and the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Tough! Hearing the kids say things like "Tenochtitlan" (which I assured them I couldn't pronounce any better than them) was adorable.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4r9_aJpWJuc/TZ1BfBo5LKI/AAAAAAAAMlo/cQSHDVpU-IA/s1600/SAM_1500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4r9_aJpWJuc/TZ1BfBo5LKI/AAAAAAAAMlo/cQSHDVpU-IA/s320/SAM_1500.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our sitemates, the judges: Sarah, Tim, and Kaede</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqSeiHqmh9g/TZ1CqM5_0UI/AAAAAAAAMlw/hTZ_-MZnq-o/s1600/SAM_1525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqSeiHqmh9g/TZ1CqM5_0UI/AAAAAAAAMlw/hTZ_-MZnq-o/s320/SAM_1525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah standing proudly next to the English Olympics winners from her school - Naraa, the teacher, took 2nd in the teacher's division, and the girl student took 1st in 9th grade and the boy student took 2nd in 11th grade.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>School Cooks and School Doctors Training</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tl4alfwDtlg/TZ1DoUGkJuI/AAAAAAAAMl0/m21TMJ6VNPI/s1600/SAM_1430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tl4alfwDtlg/TZ1DoUGkJuI/AAAAAAAAMl0/m21TMJ6VNPI/s320/SAM_1430.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One component of this training was providing the cooks with the opportunity to practice cooking new, healthy foods. We supplied them with LOTS of veggies.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NaEGzNgY5z8/TZ1WMySTJPI/AAAAAAAAMl4/rZVp6L6UknY/s1600/SAM_1437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NaEGzNgY5z8/TZ1WMySTJPI/AAAAAAAAMl4/rZVp6L6UknY/s320/SAM_1437.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aVX8VcU8WIc/TZ1X7S7XneI/AAAAAAAAMl8/8zONBe6CAoU/s1600/SAM_1445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aVX8VcU8WIc/TZ1X7S7XneI/AAAAAAAAMl8/8zONBe6CAoU/s320/SAM_1445.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many dishes they prepared - meat, onions, peppers, etc. They didn't really know what to do with the broccoli ("flower cabbage" as it's called here) so it was mostly used as garnish, same with the lettuce. We gave them some ideas for how to prepare these the following day.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqsuJm4qyOo/TZ1YNlFCBqI/AAAAAAAAMmA/DTFc0Ius738/s1600/SAM_1447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqsuJm4qyOo/TZ1YNlFCBqI/AAAAAAAAMmA/DTFc0Ius738/s320/SAM_1447.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken, carrot salad, and cabbage salad</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fzswDHhQeFo/TZ1ZYG2ms8I/AAAAAAAAMmE/Kyn0XtxIz4g/s1600/SAM_1454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fzswDHhQeFo/TZ1ZYG2ms8I/AAAAAAAAMmE/Kyn0XtxIz4g/s320/SAM_1454.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very interesting creation... this is a display of a nearby soum. The big chunk of liver standing up is a huge rock, the hard-boiled eggs are gers, and the river is made of mashed potatoes and kiwi!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Human Trafficking Awareness Training</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5WaLTgMKfdo/TZ1aa4eByzI/AAAAAAAAMmM/xgPjd1Tgrug/s1600/SAM_1467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5WaLTgMKfdo/TZ1aa4eByzI/AAAAAAAAMmM/xgPjd1Tgrug/s320/SAM_1467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My counterpart Orkhoo and I did a couple of trainings with high school and college students teaching them about the dangers of human trafficking.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-23837642022121968602011-04-01T12:09:00.000+08:002011-04-01T12:09:51.522+08:00Tourism Trade Fair - Ulaanbaatar<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark</span><br /><br />This past weekend I, along with 3 of my counterparts, traveled to the capital to attend the 2011 Tourism Trade Fair. &nbsp;For those that may not know it, my focus in Mongolia has largely been on developing the tourism industry within Arkhangai aimag. &nbsp;I spent early 2010 training trainers to go out into the surrounding towns and lead sessions on sustainable tourism. &nbsp;I then spent the summer collecting information (surveys, pictures, bios) on a majority of the ger camps, guesthouses, and other companies involved in the industry in our aimag. &nbsp;This information was then loaded on to a brand new website for our aimag that my friend and I developed - <a href="http://www.travelarkhangai.com/">www.travelarkhangai.com</a>. <br /><br />Companies could join the site for a small annual fee, and overall we managed to sign close to 20 companies. &nbsp;As of writing this, we're only about a hundred dollars short of covering the entire cost of the project - and we expect to start making a profit on it as early as next month. &nbsp;I'm really hoping this project continues in subsequent years, as it will bring a nice additional income to one of the companies I work with.<br /><br />Having launched that site in January of this year, we decided it would be to our benefit to promote the service that it offers to companies that are in the industry throughout the country. &nbsp;I developed a poster in English, and brochures (both in Mongolian and English) to be given out during the two day event.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MJTyQ5uUPxA/TZVIV3MLAEI/AAAAAAAAAkI/f4OfjGc7_24/s1600/Travel+Arkhangai+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MJTyQ5uUPxA/TZVIV3MLAEI/AAAAAAAAAkI/f4OfjGc7_24/s320/Travel+Arkhangai+Poster.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><br />My translator, Jackie, and I spent the weekend walking around UB visiting guesthouses - talking to them about the site and asking if they would hang a poster in their place in return for us adding their contact information to the website (so tourists have an option for lodging in the capital!). &nbsp;Occasionally we'd travel back to the trade show to check on our other counterparts to see how the brochure-handing-out-action was going.<br /><br />Overall, we managed to sign four new Arkhangai companies to the website who weren't previously involved. &nbsp;They were impressed with how much of an effort we were putting into advertising the site, and wanted to take part. &nbsp;I also managed to get asked by about three different company managers to take a look at their websites and help them re-do them. &nbsp;We considered the trip a success, and I really felt that Mongolia did a magnificent job of advertising their tourism industry. &nbsp;I was impressed with the materials, the booths, and the overall creativity/showmanship the companies presented at the trade fair.<br /><br />The work in the capital was good - but I won't really get into a full blown story on the travel to and from Ulaanbaatar. &nbsp;Let's just say it involved 19 hours in a bus and/or mikr, being puked on, being inches away from a 3-man brawl mid-travel, and getting back to my apartment at 4:30am. &nbsp;But hey, these are all gonna be great memories...and I choose to look at the potential future benefit this trip has brought to my staff and the tourism industry in Arkhangai instead. &nbsp;I'll deem it all a success. &nbsp;Enjoy the photos below...<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PyunXHmHhuQ/TZVJgt8PvII/AAAAAAAAAkM/1RA2s9N2gDY/s1600/DSC05516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PyunXHmHhuQ/TZVJgt8PvII/AAAAAAAAAkM/1RA2s9N2gDY/s320/DSC05516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our booth we shared with two other companies that are on the travel website. &nbsp; &nbsp;My staff includes everyone but the two women on the right.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yUjxXfranto/TZVJqr1G3LI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/sEPrUSKm9uk/s1600/DSC05420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yUjxXfranto/TZVJqr1G3LI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/sEPrUSKm9uk/s320/DSC05420.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were performances on the main stage throughout the two day event, but with the massive LED screen behind the stage it was nearly impossible to take any good pictures as it just washed out everything in front of it.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hqQtsPICCB4/TZVJ0p42H6I/AAAAAAAAAkU/CDvzY5xa0uE/s1600/DSC05446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hqQtsPICCB4/TZVJ0p42H6I/AAAAAAAAAkU/CDvzY5xa0uE/s320/DSC05446.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A snapshot of some of the business booths down one of the walkways. &nbsp;I was really impressed with the professional advertising materials and displays that most of the places had.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h-g2owA2DR0/TZVKEBOu3UI/AAAAAAAAAkY/XKpI_cn7apg/s1600/DSC05491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h-g2owA2DR0/TZVKEBOu3UI/AAAAAAAAAkY/XKpI_cn7apg/s320/DSC05491.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some animals out front of the expo hall. &nbsp;You could ride a yak if you wanted to. &nbsp;I chose not to.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_lGQHVuzdw4/TZVKNYS3CHI/AAAAAAAAAkc/mkUmbDQ-qgE/s1600/DSC05492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_lGQHVuzdw4/TZVKNYS3CHI/AAAAAAAAAkc/mkUmbDQ-qgE/s320/DSC05492.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A restaurant chain in UB called "Broadway" had bought out a whole corner of the expo and had food and drinks for sale as well as many different people in costume. &nbsp;They brought in fake chandeliers, marble columns, glass tables, etc. &nbsp;It was a magnificent display.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oslR4Ljrggs/TZVKWwxSjmI/AAAAAAAAAkg/qCgFk_tL0oQ/s1600/DSC05503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oslR4Ljrggs/TZVKWwxSjmI/AAAAAAAAAkg/qCgFk_tL0oQ/s320/DSC05503.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way out we took a photo with some of the warriors that wandered around the expo throughout the weekend. &nbsp;These guys were intense looking, but were really friendly and easy to chat with. &nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-87766692814660362142011-03-21T09:36:00.000+08:002011-03-21T09:36:09.326+08:00A Trip to the Hudoo<div class="MsoNormal">(hudoo = countryside)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">by Kara</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A little over a week ago I was told my coworkers were asked to do a training in a soum (a district of our province) about 2-3 hours away. On Monday I came to work and checked to see if the trip was still on, as I’ve been told this before and suddenly the trip has been cancelled, but this time, the trip was still a go. I went home at noon to get my stuff so I could come back in time to go to our coworker’s house for lunch at 1:00 and leave at 2:00. One of my strategies I regularly employ at work is to ask different coworkers the same question separately to see if I get the same answer. Every coworker I asked said declaratively we were going to leave at 2:00.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We got back to work from lunch around 2:30 and since I had already dropped my laptop off at home, I sat at my desk waiting for the call to go. I’m still not sure exactly what we were waiting for and I never even bothered to ask, but I ended up sitting at my desk waiting for the next 4 hours, until we left at 6:30. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">After making a couple of stops we arrived at the school dormitory, where we’d be staying, around 9:30 pm. A very sweet woman who is the director of the local parent’s organization and who helped organize the training greeted us and welcomed us with a bottle of vodka and box of candies. This is a very common thing to do, but I still felt very weird having to take a sip of vodka with dormitory children running around the halls outside our room. Nobody drank much, it was mostly just about the ceremony, but still…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My coworkers didn’t let our late arrival affect their plans. We began some games and activities with the kids and at the end, left them watching a movie we’d brought. They all seemed excited to have something different to do for the evening. Most, if not all of these kids, are the children of herders. Their parents live too far out into the countryside for the children to be able to commute to school so they live in the dorms. It houses 80 kids, ranging from 1<sup>st</sup> to 11<sup>th</sup> grade. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XfB0ab-IPQk/TYapdzCBGAI/AAAAAAAAMkg/Ct9zmjP4x-g/s1600/SAM_1004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XfB0ab-IPQk/TYapdzCBGAI/AAAAAAAAMkg/Ct9zmjP4x-g/s320/SAM_1004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My coworker leading games with the dorm kids.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day was spent doing trainings. My coworkers led all of the lessons and I served as staff photographer. Since none of them speak English and therefore can’t even get close to being able to translate for me and I don’t speak Mongolian that well, it’s impossible for me to lead a training. Anyway, my role as a PCV isn’t to lead trainings, it’s to help develop the capacity of my coworkers, but still, it’s sometimes frustrating not being able to contribute in more ways. However, I was pretty proud of their work and I don’t think they needed my help. They led trainings with parents about good parenting, and other trainings with teachers, social workers, the soum governor, and students. They didn’t use any powerpoint presentations and had games, activities, and small group work! I’ve seen way too many extremely boring presentations to be able to appreciate the better ones.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ggp6HDLyPdM/TYaqEtnESRI/AAAAAAAAMkk/lcB4W-OsMQw/s1600/SAM_1010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ggp6HDLyPdM/TYaqEtnESRI/AAAAAAAAMkk/lcB4W-OsMQw/s320/SAM_1010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting with the Governor</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IgY5Cc8oTmU/TYaqgTfTSoI/AAAAAAAAMko/8dbnXS34yUk/s1600/SAM_1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IgY5Cc8oTmU/TYaqgTfTSoI/AAAAAAAAMko/8dbnXS34yUk/s320/SAM_1109.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My coworker Orkhoo talking to parents</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">After the trainings and some more activities with kids it was already 7:30pm and it was time to get ready for the volleyball tournament. Upon further reflection, I think this is the real reason I was asked to accompany them on the trip – to play on the volleyball team. That suited me just fine though. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We walked into the gym and I immediately saw a man drinking straight from a bottle of vodka, by himself. Even in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region> where vodka is a huge problem, that was not a good sign. He continued to roam the gym, onto the court during games, and yell at people the entire night. I think he yelled at me in particular (“Foreigner!!” and after I made a mistake, something like “Geeeeez, what happened?!”) Having a huge drunk yell at me didn’t help the fact that I was already getting stared at more than usual. I get stared at regularly (staring isn’t considered rude here), but I could definitely feel even more eyes on me than usual in this small town, as I don’t think any foreigners live there and few even visit. It doesn’t really bother me, it’s just a bit unusual.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, we played many rounds of volleyball and finally at about 12:30am our team played in the championship game! However, our team fell apart against our opponent, who was better than us anyway, and we came in 2<sup>nd</sup> place. By then it was 1:00am and I was ready to hit the sack, but no… it was time for table tennis!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EwpAJksDVGE/TYaq85AL7eI/AAAAAAAAMks/Es_iCP8MDng/s1600/SAM_1181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EwpAJksDVGE/TYaq85AL7eI/AAAAAAAAMks/Es_iCP8MDng/s320/SAM_1181.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only volleyball photo that was taken - and of course I'm not in it. I think I had just served.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Two hours later the table tennis portion of the tournament concluded (I definitely did not play) and we could finally go to bed, around 3:00am. I got back to the dorm room I was sharing with my other female CPs and we all got in our pajamas. Just when I thought it might finally be time for sleep one of my coworkers brought in a bottle of dessert “wine” (think super sweet cough syrup) and a box of candy. Somebody had dropped it off as a present for us. He said, “Should we drink it?” In my head I thought, of course not, we’re going to bed, and we might as well save it (they like it after all) for a festive occasion, but my coworkers all readily agreed to open it. So we all had a little wine and finally got to go to sleep around 4:00am.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I had been told repeatedly by my coworkers we’d planned to leave at 8:00am the next morning. Now, I knew we wouldn’t actually do that, but I was hoping for 10:00am. But by the time we rolled out of bed, they spent an hour or so putting on make-up while I sat and waited, the guys warmed up our van that’d been sitting outside for two days by lighting a fire underneath it (literally, on the ground, underneath the engine), we visited the local kindergarten, saw the governor once more, etc etc, and we left at 11:45am. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I wanted to write about this trip because spending so much time with my coworkers on a trip like this (even if it was less than 48 hours) is kind of an intensive experience. For me, much of the trip is spent in silence, simply trying to understand what’s going on around me, so I spend a lot of time observing. Even after having been here for nearly two years, I still find myself surprised at times, learning new things about my coworkers and Mongolian culture. Spending a lot of time together without a break seems to highlight our similarities and differences. I find it interesting that my coworkers seem to have little to no desire to be alone and more so, that being a part of a group is vital. My female CPs always went out to the bathroom together (a latrine outside, which made me again, thankful for the indoor plumbing I have at home), they all brushed their teeth at the same time, put on their makeup at the same time, and even for their trainings, all coordinated matching outfits. While I feel the need to express my individuality and independence, they seem to express a desire to show they’re part of a group and a community. (I am, of course, making generalizations.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">By the end of the trip I was ready to come home to the comforts of my home, eat fruit and vegetables again, speak English, have some alone time, and have more control again (over time, what I eat, etc). It also made realize I don’t think I could survive as a PCV without the supportive network that I have here in my town (Mark and my fellow PCVs). Still, the trip was great. I was proud of the work my coworkers did and happy to be a part of it, even if I was just taking pictures and playing volleyball (but hey, we did get 2<sup>nd</sup> place).</div>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-85122383437699309842011-03-20T16:23:00.000+08:002011-03-20T16:23:44.581+08:00Koh Lanta & our return<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark &amp; Kara</span><br /><br />Our next destination was Koh Lanta – a small island a few hours from Krabi. This was the&nbsp;relaxing part of our trip. It was the first time we were in one place for more than two nights. Our&nbsp;time at the beach was very relaxing and low-key. We finally had our appetites back and spent&nbsp;a lot of time thinking about where and when we’d be eating. Mark tried a different Thai dish at&nbsp;every meal and I did at almost all of them. I also really enjoyed the fruit shakes and had one&nbsp;almost every day. The plethora of fresh fruit was amazing! One day we indulged in perhaps the&nbsp;best burgers we’ve eaten in years – in any country. Kara's burger involved avocado and crispy&nbsp;chicken, and Mark's was called the Garlic Sauce Cheeseburger made with a half pound of some&nbsp;of the best ground beef he's ever had. It must have sat a good 6-7 inches off the plate when it&nbsp;was brought out. They were expensive, but well worth it. We had to take a nap afterwards we&nbsp;were in such a food coma and didn’t even eat much of a dinner that night.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v0qWKFg1P2Y/TYWx4_LqaLI/AAAAAAAAAjs/ATyFUgTpo0w/s1600/SAM_0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v0qWKFg1P2Y/TYWx4_LqaLI/AAAAAAAAAjs/ATyFUgTpo0w/s320/SAM_0875.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our view just 50 meters from our bungalow. &nbsp;<i>Don't mind the baby stroller...</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6LW48sU4xAw/TYWyVcemjII/AAAAAAAAAj0/BYAiMkzA99A/s1600/SAM_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6LW48sU4xAw/TYWyVcemjII/AAAAAAAAAj0/BYAiMkzA99A/s320/SAM_0901.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We could lounge all day and into the evening. &nbsp;It was wonderful.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The island we stayed on was very touristy, but beautiful. In the future I might like to visit a&nbsp;more remote locale. The beach was filled with Europeans – in fact, we only saw a few other&nbsp;Americans the entire time. There were especially a ton of Germans. We suspect many had&nbsp;been there for weeks, as they walked around sporting their perfect tans. We played a game&nbsp;of, “Who can find somebody as pale as us?” most of the time. &nbsp;Bonus points were awarded for&nbsp;finding somebody even paler than us, but that was a rare accomplishment.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hZL0S3r0By8/TYWyGBgnvEI/AAAAAAAAAjw/AJRjSeM0QSg/s1600/SAM_0881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hZL0S3r0By8/TYWyGBgnvEI/AAAAAAAAAjw/AJRjSeM0QSg/s320/SAM_0881.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a picture taken from about 75 meters out into the sea. &nbsp;It was so shallow you could walk out this far and only be up to your waist in warm, salty water.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One day we ventured out to explore some caves we had heard about. When we arrived they&nbsp;told us we each had to pay about $10 for the tour with the guide. I asked if we could go without&nbsp;the guide and the woman laughed and said no. So we waited a bit and ended up going with&nbsp;two young German women. After hiking for a while we got to the caves and realized we didn’t&nbsp;exactly know what we’d signed up for. We were given head lamps and realized this would be a&nbsp;bit more intense than we had anticipated. The exploration through the caves involved squeezing&nbsp;through really small crevasses, crawling on our knees, and scaling down rocks. Meanwhile, we&nbsp;were sweating like crazy in the extremely thick, humid air. It was pretty awesome though and&nbsp;worth it. The tour concluded with the site of hundreds of bats hanging from the ceiling – very&nbsp;creepy.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ySgE60WKXP8/TYWxaubjekI/AAAAAAAAAjk/49G7fP5UOzs/s1600/SAM_0863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ySgE60WKXP8/TYWxaubjekI/AAAAAAAAAjk/49G7fP5UOzs/s320/SAM_0863.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JxPFDsyBSEY/TYWxrp2ZFWI/AAAAAAAAAjo/egymdrkBGAk/s1600/SAM_0865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JxPFDsyBSEY/TYWxrp2ZFWI/AAAAAAAAAjo/egymdrkBGAk/s320/SAM_0865.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pro spelunkers! &nbsp;Headlamps, sandals, sweat-drenched t-shirt: check.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We kept trying different foods and different restaurants throughout our 5 days on the beach.&nbsp;One night we decided to do the "grill on the beach" option where the restaurant staff have you&nbsp;point to the items you'd like to have grilled and then brought to your table. Kara went with a&nbsp;huge kebab of chicken, onions, and peppers and a huge ear of corn dipped in garlic butter. I&nbsp;went with the whole tuna and a baked potato. We ordered drinks and watched the crowd of&nbsp;people grow, and soon after the corn came off the grill. Then more time went by and we got&nbsp;to thinking maybe we should ask about our food. The place was hoppin' and our waiter took about 10 minutes to figure out our food never hit the grill - unfortunately they were now all out&nbsp;of chicken kebabs. We watched as they put the tuna, potato, and the replacement beef kebab&nbsp;on the grill, knowing full well it'd be another 30-40 minutes. I'm not sure that Kara's side of&nbsp;the meal was the greatest, but when that full Tuna came out and I began picking away at it, it&nbsp;almost made the wait worth it. I'd been craving seafood for years really.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O0Y1HHnsMyA/TYWykRGuFcI/AAAAAAAAAj4/7E6gkIBNCxA/s1600/SAM_0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O0Y1HHnsMyA/TYWykRGuFcI/AAAAAAAAAj4/7E6gkIBNCxA/s320/SAM_0913.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simply amazing. &nbsp;Probably took me about 40 minutes to eat, but it was all kinds of fresh/delicious!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TZVFMdkP9Y4/TYWyzHQUkbI/AAAAAAAAAj8/EyusFuZcUDA/s1600/SAM_0919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TZVFMdkP9Y4/TYWyzHQUkbI/AAAAAAAAAj8/EyusFuZcUDA/s320/SAM_0919.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the end of our meal that night we befriended a pregnant black cat (hard to see). &nbsp;We fed her bones from the fish, and a few extra pieces of meat that we couldn't finish.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Finally, our peaceful stay at the beach had to come to an end and we headed back to Bangkok&nbsp;on an overnight train. Arriving in Bangkok around 8:30am, we had one last day to spend there&nbsp;before our 10:45pm flight that night. It being Saturday, we went to the Chatuchak weekend&nbsp;market. We had heard it was huge, but even we didn’t expect how big it was. They give out&nbsp;color-coded maps. It's like the Puyallup Fair grounds in size, but the entire thing is just stalls&nbsp;and stalls of everything from designer clothes, to birds/fish/puppies, to used books. It was fun&nbsp;at the beginning but in the afternoon I had made the mistake of not buying something I saw&nbsp;earlier and I wanted to go back and find it. We got lost in the maze of the market and started to&nbsp;get overheated and cranky. We actually think we both got some sort of heat rash from the whole&nbsp;experience. However, in the end we walked away with a bag full of souvenirs.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hzDmxM6LDPo/TYWy_l-VWpI/AAAAAAAAAkA/cHjrQOZTcxE/s1600/SAM_0933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hzDmxM6LDPo/TYWy_l-VWpI/AAAAAAAAAkA/cHjrQOZTcxE/s320/SAM_0933.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4PuZ7V8sWME/TYWzOt7PGqI/AAAAAAAAAkE/1k3mUgCC3IM/s1600/SAM_0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4PuZ7V8sWME/TYWzOt7PGqI/AAAAAAAAAkE/1k3mUgCC3IM/s320/SAM_0935.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is another shot from Khao San Road where we had a few last meals and watched this band perform and get interviewed. &nbsp;I'm fairly sure we're in the background of some indy band music video now.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We finished up our day in Bangkok with a couple of happy hour beers and a smattering of&nbsp;street food – phad thai (Mark may have eaten two whole plates), chicken kebabs, corn on the&nbsp;cob, and fresh fruit. We're gonna miss those food options, the shorts/t-shirt weather, and the&nbsp;allure of exploration. But we’re back in Mongolia now, happily reunited with our cat Mishka, and&nbsp;planning out our last 5 months we’ll be here in Mongolia! Our vacation flew by as we know&nbsp;our remaining time here in the land of Chinggis will as well.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3Z5TeJnkZqQ/TYWxLOY6HnI/AAAAAAAAAjg/u5zZc_O3_20/s1600/SAM_0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3Z5TeJnkZqQ/TYWxLOY6HnI/AAAAAAAAAjg/u5zZc_O3_20/s320/SAM_0936.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How could you pass this up? &nbsp;It was just a couple bucks to get a plate of phad thai and spring rolls. &nbsp;You pick the meat (if any), the noodle type, and the spices. &nbsp;Takes like 3 minutes and you've got lunch!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Though this marks the end of our blog posts related to our trip to Cambodia/Thailand, Kara has posted dozens more pictures on Facebook. &nbsp;Check them out here: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=339983&amp;id=504170728&amp;l=f213e7c3ce">Thailand</a> &amp; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=339976&amp;id=504170728&amp;l=4801260719">Cambodia</a>. &nbsp;And we'd like to thank all of our family who really helped fund a large part of our trip with your wonderful Christmas gifts. &nbsp;Thank you. &nbsp;We're just grateful we could share our experience of South East Asia with all of you through the wonderful technology of camera and blog.Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-36250140241295308882011-03-15T16:20:00.000+08:002011-03-15T16:20:48.676+08:00Krabi, Thailand<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Mark &amp; Kara</span><br /><br />The evening we left Bangkok we were riding an overnight bus south to Krabi Town. We got to&nbsp;ride one of those double decker, air-conditioned, sleeper buses. It seemed as though all the&nbsp;foreigners were put on the upper level in the very back (though this may have been a result of&nbsp;ordering tickets later than domestic travelers). Some of our neighbors on the trip were quite&nbsp;amusing, and listening to others' stories of travels throughout South East Asia provided for many good&nbsp;laughs and a few "oh i'm glad that didn't happen to me" moments. <i>Seriously, how do you get&nbsp;</i><i>your wallet/money stolen 7 times in a month?<br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_TWLxZIXUeA/TX8VeBnXxuI/AAAAAAAAAi8/ca01P7nuKjU/s1600/SAM_0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_TWLxZIXUeA/TX8VeBnXxuI/AAAAAAAAAi8/ca01P7nuKjU/s320/SAM_0742.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><i><br /></i><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BWwGtVm7ddk/TX8U9DYCwVI/AAAAAAAAAi4/Lq-ciUXW3TQ/s1600/SAM_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BWwGtVm7ddk/TX8U9DYCwVI/AAAAAAAAAi4/Lq-ciUXW3TQ/s320/SAM_0746.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get it?! &nbsp;Krabi!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />After arriving and settling in we decided to go to the Tiger Cave Temple. Upon arriving we were&nbsp;greeted by a bunch of monkeys!!! After taking a million pictures of the monkeys we thought, hey,&nbsp;let’s climb up to the top of this mountain. Everybody else was doing it and there was supposed&nbsp;to be a great view point at the top and a huge Buddha. And 1237 steps isn’t really that many,&nbsp;is it? Only a couple hundred of steps up and we were already asking ourselves why we were&nbsp;doing this. We stopped every 2 minutes, or whenever we found shade. We used up our water&nbsp;bottles in the first 600 steps. We pulled ourselves along literally climbing up steps using all four limbs.&nbsp;Needless to say, we pushed ourselves to the point of exhaustion again. The view at the top was&nbsp;nice, we got great pictures, but in the end we were very relieved to be off the mountain.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6W8v0zLYnus/TX8VwvZdGMI/AAAAAAAAAjA/uBgGINX9m-k/s1600/SAM_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6W8v0zLYnus/TX8VwvZdGMI/AAAAAAAAAjA/uBgGINX9m-k/s320/SAM_0745.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just before heading toward the Tiger Caves, we walked along the river's edge - beautiful rock formations, warm weather, and the calm water made for a lovely stroll.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yBu-WVGMbNc/TX8XKzdDtiI/AAAAAAAAAjE/Fqte99PAYQY/s1600/SAM_0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yBu-WVGMbNc/TX8XKzdDtiI/AAAAAAAAAjE/Fqte99PAYQY/s320/SAM_0753.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkeys! &nbsp;Baby monkey!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WRMpXA4XYdY/TX8XpAkBO4I/AAAAAAAAAjI/GXMna_W97z8/s1600/SAM_0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WRMpXA4XYdY/TX8XpAkBO4I/AAAAAAAAAjI/GXMna_W97z8/s320/SAM_0758.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, Kara loved the monkeys...and they were so friendly.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tHSN6hCTeHw/TX8YUNnu_nI/AAAAAAAAAjM/rScjD2YA6Hc/s1600/SAM_0775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tHSN6hCTeHw/TX8YUNnu_nI/AAAAAAAAAjM/rScjD2YA6Hc/s320/SAM_0775.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think we have better pictures of this Buddha, but this one shows how immense this structure was and just how high up we had climbed!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>We were so tired we hired some taxi driver to take us back into town. Not the cheapest option, but at&nbsp;that point we could barely stand without our legs quivering and cramping. We got back to our&nbsp;little hotel, showered, rested, and then decided to walk all of 100 feet from our hotel to a restaurant that&nbsp;was supposed to be one of the best in town. We arrived at 5:01, not really knowing it opened at&nbsp;5:00, and wandered around the two-story open air restaurant looking for someone who would&nbsp;be interested in helping us. We quickly realized that this place must be popular with locals, as&nbsp;tourists didn't seem to be plentiful in this part of town. After minutes of confusion, a man who&nbsp;we're not even sure worked there asked us what we'd like. We both ordered, got our food,&nbsp;enjoyed that...and then got presented with an entire platter of "goods" made from soy bean&nbsp;as far as we could tell. We think it was dessert, but we were so full we couldn't partake.&nbsp;No one really came to ask us if we needed anything, except for one repetitive instance of hospitality -&nbsp;whenever we took a sip of water, a waitress would walk over and fill up our glass. It was one&nbsp;of the strangest things...we couldn't get them to take our order, or bring us more of anything, or&nbsp;bring our bill/accept our money, but they made sure our water was full almost all the time.<br /><br />The next day we attended a Thai cooking class! This experience was what I had been waiting&nbsp;for in Thailand. Kara and I love Thai food, and I love making different kinds of sauces...so to&nbsp;see how simple it could be to mix flavors to get so many good dishes, it was fantastic. The&nbsp;teachers made it impossible for us to screw up any of the dishes so they were all delicious. We&nbsp;got recipe books so hopefully we can try to recreate the food… though it’s nearly impossible&nbsp;here in Mongolia because we’re missing so many ingredients. By the end, we'd prepared&nbsp;something like 10 different dishes...so we sat down with an Australian couple on their&nbsp;honeymoon who had joined us for the class and enjoyed a feast. It would appear that our&nbsp;appetites were coming back. We really love Thai food!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AJqR85VGE_k/TX8ZHvEJesI/AAAAAAAAAjU/HqMbA4nf85c/s1600/SAM_0815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AJqR85VGE_k/TX8ZHvEJesI/AAAAAAAAAjU/HqMbA4nf85c/s320/SAM_0815.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our teacher Mrs. Ya (not pictured) used this "prep" time to inform us on the proper technique for "Chop chop, Bang bang".</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6KCLNc2Orj8/TX8Yy-4cT2I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/XgZ0CiD5cNQ/s1600/SAM_0813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6KCLNc2Orj8/TX8Yy-4cT2I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/XgZ0CiD5cNQ/s320/SAM_0813.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know when you make a meal you appreciate it so much more - but seriously those were some of the best fried spring rolls ever! &nbsp;We even made the hot dipping sauce from scratch...I mean crushing-red-peppers-in-a-stone-mortar type of work!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ncsCPnSAV_M/TX8ZiEdD9ZI/AAAAAAAAAjY/f08jeiJASUQ/s1600/SAM_0823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ncsCPnSAV_M/TX8ZiEdD9ZI/AAAAAAAAAjY/f08jeiJASUQ/s320/SAM_0823.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite the spread...I don't think the 4 of us finished half of it.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Later that evening we spent our first real time on a Thai beach. &nbsp;We rolled up our pants and shirt sleeves, walked and splashed in the warm water, sat at a restaurant overlooking the sea, and captured our first really good sunset of this entire trip. &nbsp;If anything, it was a precursor of our time on the island of Koh Lanta. &nbsp;We were heading there the very next day...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4qV6c6BjZZc/TX8Z9bv6UAI/AAAAAAAAAjc/C3Z0C57H87Y/s1600/SAM_0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4qV6c6BjZZc/TX8Z9bv6UAI/AAAAAAAAAjc/C3Z0C57H87Y/s320/SAM_0846.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">The final chapter of our vacation story will be coming soon...</span></i></div>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-27319214869935023522011-03-12T14:00:00.000+08:002011-03-12T14:00:15.797+08:00Bangkok & Ayuthaya<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Kara and Mark</span><br /><br />We had thought that Phnom Penh was a big bustling city, but Bangkok is in a category all&nbsp;its own. It is a HUGE city of about 11 million people – that’s more than New York City. And a&nbsp;huge tourist destination too. At the conclusion of the "VIP" mini-van ride from the border, we&nbsp;got our first taste of the traffic in Bangkok. It took us over an hour to wind our way through&nbsp;the city, dropping off passengers, and ultimately ending up at Khao San Road - the mecca for&nbsp;backpackers. It was here that we enjoyed our first taste of Thai food. We knew we'd regret&nbsp;it later, but we couldn't pass up a wonderful plate of Phad Thai and another plate of grilled&nbsp;chicken and vegetables.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cf2FBKc-uM4/TXsEpyZcQLI/AAAAAAAAAiU/i8jxcXgImZw/s1600/SAM_0659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cf2FBKc-uM4/TXsEpyZcQLI/AAAAAAAAAiU/i8jxcXgImZw/s320/SAM_0659.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the Khao San Road area during mid-day. &nbsp;It's gets much, much crazier in the evening. &nbsp;And it's incredibly difficult to capture it in a few photos.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The next day we took a bus up north to Ayuthaya to see some more ancient temples. However,&nbsp;our energy was still low, it was about 95 degrees, we were both wearing pants because we&nbsp;thought we had to in order to see temples (really, it was only necessary at one that we visited,&nbsp;which we could have easily avoided), and after seeing the temples in Siem Reap, the ones&nbsp;in Ayuthaya paled in comparison. I would say the highlight of the day was seeing some elephants and&nbsp;seeing a little wild crocodile in a river. I'm sure the ancient city is noteworthy, but unfortunately&nbsp;for us the day just felt underwhelming.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5I92IavQHjc/TXsE6bfsWfI/AAAAAAAAAiY/7l8TH2OIf9s/s1600/SAM_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5I92IavQHjc/TXsE6bfsWfI/AAAAAAAAAiY/7l8TH2OIf9s/s320/SAM_0661.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Ayuthaya</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F6y54LrpN2E/TXsFIS5CSII/AAAAAAAAAic/2Ml8x9rUbuY/s1600/SAM_0674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F6y54LrpN2E/TXsFIS5CSII/AAAAAAAAAic/2Ml8x9rUbuY/s320/SAM_0674.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E3-NDdyet1U/TXsFWmBWKhI/AAAAAAAAAig/CnuXKexr8rg/s1600/SAM_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E3-NDdyet1U/TXsFWmBWKhI/AAAAAAAAAig/CnuXKexr8rg/s320/SAM_0683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephant rides - would have been a wonderful (albeit expensive) way to get out of the 95 degree sun! &nbsp;We chose not to indulge.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jDaq-pw-cYE/TXsFjezIoYI/AAAAAAAAAik/Xm_VAqYkTj4/s1600/SAM_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jDaq-pw-cYE/TXsFjezIoYI/AAAAAAAAAik/Xm_VAqYkTj4/s320/SAM_0687.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An incredibly large sleeping Buddha at one of the Wats (temples) of Ayuthaya</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zFC8EiCInFc/TXsFv5-6HeI/AAAAAAAAAio/mI3ZY_MeVQ0/s1600/SAM_0695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zFC8EiCInFc/TXsFv5-6HeI/AAAAAAAAAio/mI3ZY_MeVQ0/s320/SAM_0695.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qeaIK_jwHls/TXsIUFcfkxI/AAAAAAAAAi0/EPHhHNx0yi8/s1600/SAM_0698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qeaIK_jwHls/TXsIUFcfkxI/AAAAAAAAAi0/EPHhHNx0yi8/s320/SAM_0698.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't that awesome! &nbsp;These are the little versions of tuk-tuks that drivers used in the Ayuthaya area. &nbsp;We rode in the back of one similar to this, but ours was just plain green.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The next day we were going to leave on an overnight bus at 6:00pm but we had the majority&nbsp;of the day to spend in Bangkok. We had planned on seeing all the temples and touristy things&nbsp;but after the previous days experience we had a change of heart. We decided to have a more&nbsp;relaxing day exploring Bangkok – riding the Sky Train (kind of like the monorail, but functional&nbsp;and useful), riding a river ferry, and just wandering around. It was delightful. We still hadn’t&nbsp;quite regained our energy, but we pushed through and made of a day of it. We were a bit&nbsp;frustrated that we still didn’t have our appetites back with all of the delicious and pretty cheap&nbsp;food surrounding us, but that didn't stop us from ordering anyway. But suddenly things like Club&nbsp;Sandwiches and plates of just fried rice sounded good...we were beginning to wonder when&nbsp;we'd have the stomach to dive into the spicy curries and noodle dishes we'd been craving for&nbsp;months. We were hoping soon, because in the next leg of our trip we'd be encountering a lot of&nbsp;down-time (read: time for checking out all the beach restaurants), and we knew we were going&nbsp;to take a cooking class. It was time to leave Bangkok...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oSaUt5mDcWw/TXsEbBCUtyI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/aUWt_2dYj4M/s1600/SAM_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oSaUt5mDcWw/TXsEbBCUtyI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/aUWt_2dYj4M/s320/SAM_0725.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qzcrHQfv2G0/TXsGVDgP_eI/AAAAAAAAAiw/UHmpoKRLF-8/s1600/SAM_0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qzcrHQfv2G0/TXsGVDgP_eI/AAAAAAAAAiw/UHmpoKRLF-8/s320/SAM_0707.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">More on our trip through Thailand coming soon...</span></i>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-72036368170333827042011-03-08T19:04:00.000+08:002011-03-08T19:04:41.503+08:00Cambodia<div class="MsoNormal">by Kara </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Ever since the seemingly never-ending, bitterly cold winter last year Mark and I have been dreaming about taking a vacation to <st1:place w:st="on">SE Asia</st1:place> and that dream came true last month! We spent about two and a half weeks in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It felt so good to be in warm weather again and we practically felt naked at first walking around in only one layer of clothing and revealing so much skin in shorts and tank tops. We spent our time in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region> focusing on seeing the historical sites – memorials and museums in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phnom Penh</st1:place></st1:city> and the ancient temples in Siem Reap. We did some more site-seeing in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Thailand</st1:country-region></st1:place> and also spent some time relaxing at the beach. Thanks to Mark’s very thorough planning everything went really smoothly. It was exhilarating to be in new countries again, seeing, smelling, and tasting so many new things for the first time. That’s the quick summary, but below are more details about our trip.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><st1:city w:st="on">Phnom Penh</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region></b></st1:place></div><div class="MsoNormal">Our first stop in our trip was <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Phnom Penh</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. We only had one full day to explore the city. We started out the morning by roaming around the streets near our guesthouse. Wandering around in a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">new city</st1:place></st1:city>, hearing Cambodian, seeing thousands of motor bikes zooming past us, smelling the aromas of the street vendors’ food, I was immediately filled with a rush of excitement over being in a new country. I haven’t felt that way in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region> for a long time now – as we are not just tourists traveling in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, we are living there. There’s something really exhilarating about exploring a new place.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We hired a tuk tuk driver to take us to the popular tourist destinations for the morning. We went to the Killing Fields and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tuol</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Sleng</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>. I was shocked to realize how little I knew of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s history, specifically, about the Khmer Rouge. The Killing Fields were where the Khmer Rouge took thousands of people to kill them and bury them in mass graves. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tuol</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Sleng</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place> was a school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a place to torture people. It was very difficult to see this and contemplate how human beings can do these things to one another. There were still blood stains on the walls and floors of the museum and there were skulls and bones at the fields. In addition to the deaths that took place at these places we learned that many people died from starvation, disease, and forced labor during the rule of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). Nobody is exactly sure how many people died but estimates are 1.5 to 2.2 million people – out of a population of 8 million. That’s 1/5 to 1/4 of the population. I could spend way more time talking about this… Obviously it was a very sobering start to our morning in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Later that day we moved on to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">National</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the Central Market, and some more wandering around town.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AG481oqdUgA/TXYBgH1h4JI/AAAAAAAAMiM/dTWV4KlHVMQ/s1600/SAM_0483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AG481oqdUgA/TXYBgH1h4JI/AAAAAAAAMiM/dTWV4KlHVMQ/s320/SAM_0483.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our tuk tuk driver and his friend.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A0bQDYJkDBA/TXYCGxpMdSI/AAAAAAAAMiQ/jE4Xx58kcTk/s1600/SAM_0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A0bQDYJkDBA/TXYCGxpMdSI/AAAAAAAAMiQ/jE4Xx58kcTk/s320/SAM_0438.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know it's weird to post this picture, but this is what is at the museum that was once the killing fields. These skulls and other bones were unearthed from mass graves.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SOhaRPva8u4/TXYCXcFlsoI/AAAAAAAAMiU/caGre3YD-Eo/s1600/SAM_0456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SOhaRPva8u4/TXYCXcFlsoI/AAAAAAAAMiU/caGre3YD-Eo/s320/SAM_0456.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Khmer Rouge heavily documented information about the people the tortured and killed. These are photos of the victims at the Tuol Sleng Museum.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SPBojYVczso/TXYDH-dqlHI/AAAAAAAAMiY/hWje_whrfDw/s1600/SAM_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SPBojYVczso/TXYDH-dqlHI/AAAAAAAAMiY/hWje_whrfDw/s320/SAM_0460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The National Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y90ollW0Gn0/TXYDvfYOutI/AAAAAAAAMic/iq_bvxlJlVQ/s1600/SAM_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y90ollW0Gn0/TXYDvfYOutI/AAAAAAAAMic/iq_bvxlJlVQ/s320/SAM_0481.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view outside our guesthouse -- look at all that green!!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Siem Reap, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:place></st1:country-region></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day we left to go to Siem Reap via bus. We got there in time to see the sunset at Angkor Wat and hired a tuk tuk driver for the next day, beginning with the sunrise at the same location. Unfortunately, it was so cloudy that we couldn’t really see the sunrise… but at least we got an early start to the day (leaving our guesthouse at 5:30am) and got to see some of the other temples before the rush of tourists. These ancient temples, built in the 12<sup>th</sup> century, were definitely a highlight of the trip. They were one of those historical sites and major tourist destinations that actually lived up to all the hype.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We finished our morning tour pretty quickly and got back to our guesthouse by noon. What had started as a wonderful Valentine’s Day, one that I had said would be very hard to top in the future, took a turn for the worse. We suspect we got some form of food poisoning or something from the water. We were stuck in our beds for the rest of the day with headaches, body aches, fever, chills, stomach cramps, and diarrhea – diarrhea that decided to stay with us for almost the entire trip. We were disappointed to have to waste so much of a day stuck in bed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Though only feeling a little better, we stuck to our travel itinerary and took off at 6:00am the next morning to head to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region>. In Mark’s very thorough research he had read online that getting from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region> can be a bit difficult, but we had no problems at all. It helps that our travel standards are pretty low after dealing with travel in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region> – unlike some of our fellow passengers on the trip. When the microbus driver tried to fit one extra person on the bus a passenger started yelling at him and saying that was completely unacceptable. We laughed, thinking that in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, we would’ve easily had an additional 10 people in the bus. We also got stuck at a gas station with car problems and were forced to wait for over an hour which led other passengers to loudly complain, “What are we going to do!? What’s your plan?! Are we going to camp out overnight here?!”, yelling at our innocent driver after only a half hour of waiting. Lovely. However, he got it back up and going and we headed on towards <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangkok</st1:place></st1:city>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iyZeLQyGR4U/TXYEmRBikrI/AAAAAAAAMik/NFfdT3DKYrI/s1600/SAM_0488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iyZeLQyGR4U/TXYEmRBikrI/AAAAAAAAMik/NFfdT3DKYrI/s320/SAM_0488.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angkor Wat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pGoRAfbLyew/TXYF3YoOG3I/AAAAAAAAMio/tEx-eDHukt0/s1600/SAM_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pGoRAfbLyew/TXYF3YoOG3I/AAAAAAAAMio/tEx-eDHukt0/s320/SAM_0497.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monks at Angkor Wat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YAMHb98xHpM/TXYG8I7XbjI/AAAAAAAAMis/zVTVbBZAOnw/s1600/SAM_0585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YAMHb98xHpM/TXYG8I7XbjI/AAAAAAAAMis/zVTVbBZAOnw/s320/SAM_0585.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It seemed much steeper in person than it appears in this photo.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I955DwiRq5w/TXYH0UJH_8I/AAAAAAAAMi4/nLsn2kD7aEc/s1600/SAM_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I955DwiRq5w/TXYH0UJH_8I/AAAAAAAAMi4/nLsn2kD7aEc/s320/SAM_0591.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xZGvi2-XUlY/TXYJDLjfwaI/AAAAAAAAMjA/g_t8d8Jtm3c/s1600/SAM_0608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xZGvi2-XUlY/TXYJDLjfwaI/AAAAAAAAMjA/g_t8d8Jtm3c/s320/SAM_0608.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o6MH1r8-Zp8/TXYJwkhlqrI/AAAAAAAAMjE/H0-gokMzc9Y/s1600/SAM_0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o6MH1r8-Zp8/TXYJwkhlqrI/AAAAAAAAMjE/H0-gokMzc9Y/s320/SAM_0630.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant trees taking over the temples (that's me if you can't tell)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o8M66DiHALo/TXYKRcpFVWI/AAAAAAAAMjI/tAtcNME2LlA/s1600/SAM_0634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o8M66DiHALo/TXYKRcpFVWI/AAAAAAAAMjI/tAtcNME2LlA/s320/SAM_0634.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R2LNN54JnRM/TXYKwpC-XQI/AAAAAAAAMjM/jJENEj-2dNc/s1600/SAM_0641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R2LNN54JnRM/TXYKwpC-XQI/AAAAAAAAMjM/jJENEj-2dNc/s320/SAM_0641.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gjFzdDfW9m0/TXYHK2-XAXI/AAAAAAAAMiw/oA0EYt0g_KI/s1600/SAM_0545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gjFzdDfW9m0/TXYHK2-XAXI/AAAAAAAAMiw/oA0EYt0g_KI/s320/SAM_0545.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark enjoying a delicious meal. Who knows, this might have been the meal that got us sick.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IjN1okxvMoc/TXYHZ38BsMI/AAAAAAAAMi0/Hb8FXzEl1FM/s1600/SAM_0552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IjN1okxvMoc/TXYHZ38BsMI/AAAAAAAAMi0/Hb8FXzEl1FM/s320/SAM_0552.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sign read: "Dr. Fish Massage - Have you ever seen the fish can massage?<br />If our fish can not make you happy We'll not charge. Don't miss the unique experience. &nbsp;$3"<br />How could we resist? It ticked like crazy at first. It wasn't quite like the pedicure we were promised, but it did make us happy.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Posts about Thailand coming soon.</i></div>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-60626857011277290202011-02-09T22:34:00.000+08:002011-02-09T22:34:41.391+08:00Tsagaan Sar 2011<b>Day 1</b><br />Our dear friend Ochgo extended a wonderful offer to visit with her family on the first day of the Tsagaan Sar holiday this year.&nbsp; She did this last year as well.&nbsp; Typically this day is reserved for the younger family members to visit their oldest siblings' place or their parents' residence depending on the living situation.&nbsp; But Kara and I, as well as our site-mates Tim and Kaede, and even another PCV visiting at the time (John), were all invited.&nbsp; It was like our very own PCV family going to visit one of the families that has been the kindest to the volunteers of our community over the years.&nbsp; We were quite grateful for the invite.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUZ4Fj1SI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/JMXp6nlhYMM/s1600/SAM_0402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUZ4Fj1SI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/JMXp6nlhYMM/s400/SAM_0402.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Of course Tim, Kaede, and John came prepared in their traditional Mongolian dels - maybe just to make us look bad.&nbsp; But seriously, they looked great and we definitely got quite a few looks from locals as we hiked about 20 minutes out of town to Ochgo's mother's house.&nbsp; For these three volunteers accompanying us this was their first Tsagaan Sar.&nbsp; It felt as if we should prepare them for what was about to happen.&nbsp; And really, and I know I'm speaking for myself here, I felt relieved to know that I'd done this all before.&nbsp; Ochgo and her family would never pressure us or make us feel like we did something wrong, and that knowledge was all the relief we needed.&nbsp; <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUcHu4beI/AAAAAAAAAhU/uHA-TRJREr8/s1600/SAM_0404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUcHu4beI/AAAAAAAAAhU/uHA-TRJREr8/s400/SAM_0404.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />The traditional foods of milk tea, buuz, salads, candy, and the tail meat of the sheep were all presented to us.&nbsp; Ochgo was of course a wonderful host and her English knowledge made this a great reintroduction to the holiday.&nbsp; We were then treated to a beautiful walk home (on a side note we've been experiencing temperatures in the mid-20's for the past week - this is not normal for this time of year, but it made for a warm holiday).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKVevs3DsI/AAAAAAAAAhk/GLZuH5zKQmI/s1600/SAM_0407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKVevs3DsI/AAAAAAAAAhk/GLZuH5zKQmI/s400/SAM_0407.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><br /><b>Day 2</b><br />We weren't really sure who might invite us on the second day.&nbsp; Really the way it all works is you wait and hope for a text message from a co-worker or friend telling you that they're available and would love to have you come over to their place.&nbsp; Last year this happened in spurts - we'd get 4 invites one afternoon, then nothing one day, then 3 more the next day.&nbsp; However, Day 2 this year worked out perfectly.&nbsp; Kara received a surprise text message from a woman named Tunga who works at one of the World Vision offices in our town.&nbsp; Kara taught English to the staff at her office last year and occasionally helps Tunga translate sponsor letters from Mongolian to English. I'd never met her before, but Kara told me she was great...so off we went.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUg3ymX6I/AAAAAAAAAhc/Cgk-_jvmNFQ/s1600/SAM_0408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUg3ymX6I/AAAAAAAAAhc/Cgk-_jvmNFQ/s400/SAM_0408.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />Tunga made us feel comfortable, offered us all of the traditional food/drinks, and introduced us to some of her family that was there. She's in her late 20s and isn't married yet so like most Mongolians in this situation, she lives with her parents. In the background of the picture above you can see her nephew playing a computer game, supposedly he's quite the gamer.<br /><br /><b>Day 3</b><br />The third day was meant to be the day you visit with co-workers.&nbsp; However, it was a Saturday which threw off everyone's schedules.&nbsp; This meant we were once again not quite sure where we might end up, but we knew that my co-workers could call at any moment and we'd likely end up going in different directions.&nbsp; We thus planned ahead so well that when I got the call to meet up with my staff, I decided to rely on their camera thinking that Kara might need ours.&nbsp; She ended up not needing it.&nbsp; Thus, we have no pictures from Day 3...not yet anyway...it's still possible my work camera will provide a few with me in it (but we'll have to wait until after our trip to upload those).<br /><br />I did however go to two more houses on Day 3.&nbsp; I attended a child's hair-cutting ceremony as well.&nbsp; And in one of the more interesting moments of my time here in Mongolia, I watched as my counterparts all sprinted (not joking...sprinted!) out of a house.&nbsp; I quickly followed, not knowing if I missed something about the house having caught fire, or maybe we were "dining and dashing" Mongolia style.&nbsp; Once outside I realized that everyone was facing the now sliver of a moon that had appeared nearby our aimag center's mountain.&nbsp; They had all opened their wallets/purses, verified there was money inside, and were waving them in a circular motion toward the moon.&nbsp; <br /><br /><b>Day 4</b><br />Kara was beginning to wonder if any of her co-workers were going to invite us over before she had to go back to work on Monday.&nbsp; Day 4 we received a call from Orkhontuul asking us to meet her husband outside waiting in a car.&nbsp; He would take us to their ger.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUkLncAGI/AAAAAAAAAhg/YBIP9kdkGVg/s1600/SAM_0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TVKUkLncAGI/AAAAAAAAAhg/YBIP9kdkGVg/s400/SAM_0415.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />We spent nearly two hours looking at great old photos of them from before they met, during their time at University together, and even more recent photos of their children.&nbsp; They really fed us an incredible amount of food - including some prime slices of beef.&nbsp; I believe we were even invited to ride horses with their family this summer.&nbsp; <br /><br />Having spent time with all the different friends/co-workers this year I can say I was happy, relieved, and amazed at how far we've come since last year.&nbsp; Now that we've been here a year and a half we were able to understand 90% of the conversations, Kara (and much less so I) was able to answer intelligibly, and overall we just felt a sense of calm surrounding the holiday.&nbsp; We were able to enjoy the holiday by having the invites spread out, and we got to visit a couple of different places we didn't see last year.<br /><br />We may not have another Tsagaan Sar in Mongolia, but we are proud to say we've experienced it in all it's glory.&nbsp; We are especially grateful to the members of the community who felt close enough to us to invite us to share a meal.&nbsp; The holiday doesn't end after 4 days - no it continues for what seems like weeks.&nbsp; Kara was invited to share a meal with co-workers on Monday, and I spent the entire day getting up and down out of my chair to greet many of the Mercy Corps clients I see every month.&nbsp; I can truly say we've both gotten pretty good at placing our arms in the correct position, muttering the greeting "Amar baina uu?", and sniffing both cheeks.&nbsp; Dare we say we've integrated...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-27069669466471122882011-02-03T17:02:00.000+08:002011-02-03T17:02:05.420+08:00The Meal Before Tsagaan Sar<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">by Mark</span><br /><br />Even though today marks the beginning of the Tsagaan Sar (white moon/month) holiday - basically the Mongolian Lunar New Year celebration, this post is about the meal that Kara and I hosted at our apartment just this Monday. &nbsp;We'll save the Tsagaan Sar post for next time. &nbsp;We decided to have my co-workers over for a Mongolian/American meal both as a long overdue custom, but also as a way of saying "I can't afford and probably don't have the time to invite you all over here during the holidays". &nbsp;Also, because we're leaving for UB in just a few days now for our trip to Cambodia/Thailand, having a lunch before the trip and before the holiday just made the most sense.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TUptFksMBII/AAAAAAAAAhE/8H3iGpHO8Xk/s1600/SAM_0395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TUptFksMBII/AAAAAAAAAhE/8H3iGpHO8Xk/s320/SAM_0395.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nine of my co-workers arrived about an hour after our intended lunch time and I decided to hand out our three sets of small photo albums. &nbsp;Most of them have not seen me before I lost the weight here in Mongolia, so there were a lot of "oh wow, Mark was fatter, we like him fat!" &nbsp;It doesn't bother me. &nbsp;And our pictures taken at the Grand Canyon a few years ago are just hard to explain. &nbsp;But these all helped to pass the time as some of the food was finishing cooking.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TUptq_9VdOI/AAAAAAAAAhM/QWlhRIfPuVI/s1600/SAM_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TUptq_9VdOI/AAAAAAAAAhM/QWlhRIfPuVI/s320/SAM_0401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We decided to make the traditional steamed dumplings (buuz) and paired it with the staples of pickles and sliced carrots. &nbsp;But in order to give the meal a little different feel, we decided to make both a pasta salad (with tomatoes and cucumber) and one of our favorite salads, the Top Ramen Salad. &nbsp;My co-workers loved how simple it was - cabbage, ramen noodles, and peanuts with an oil, sugar, seasoning dressing - and loved that we cut the cabbage into larger pieces rather than coleslaw style. &nbsp;We had other fruits and candy on the table as well to accompany the main dishes. &nbsp;</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TUptYF6rBJI/AAAAAAAAAhI/uDYCtshGZAw/s1600/SAM_0397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y4NbsOQ4BCg/TUptYF6rBJI/AAAAAAAAAhI/uDYCtshGZAw/s320/SAM_0397.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Overall it was a simple meal. &nbsp;But in light of the food fest that Tsagaan Sar is we decided that simple is best, and in the end it was the simplest of foods that put a smile on my co-workers faces. &nbsp;I've been meaning to have them over for a very long time, and we've just not felt comfortable doing it...but now that it's done with we're both glad we did. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's now time to eat buuz, salads, fruits, and candy for the next 3-4 days...and to refresh our memories of the traditional greetings and ways to be culturally assimilated at this time of year. &nbsp;To anyone reading this: Saihan Shineleerei! (Please Have a Nice New Year!)</div>Mark Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15135948791583933530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507408377574806277.post-58751945684479352212011-01-16T15:47:00.000+08:002011-01-16T15:47:39.526+08:00IceFestby Kara<br /><br />I spent Saturday with my coworkers at the Arkhangai IceFest. That's not what they called it, but I think it's a suitable name. The festivities took place at a local river, or rather, <i>on </i>the local river. Worried about the cold weather I wore three layers of long underwear underneath my jeans and four long-sleeved shirts under a sweatershirt and thankfully, stayed pretty warm throughout the day. Here are some pics!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKa2iQG1HI/AAAAAAAAL2s/yqEqzbWF87A/s1600/SAM_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKa2iQG1HI/AAAAAAAAL2s/yqEqzbWF87A/s320/SAM_0355.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKbcmzb8eI/AAAAAAAAL2w/JrUWlOKBTEs/s1600/SAM_0359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKbcmzb8eI/AAAAAAAAL2w/JrUWlOKBTEs/s320/SAM_0359.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My coworkers warming up around the fire</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKcCOHmf_I/AAAAAAAAL20/4xdC9k8XfVY/s1600/SAM_0367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKcCOHmf_I/AAAAAAAAL20/4xdC9k8XfVY/s320/SAM_0367.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the sports competitions (and one that I was selected to participate in) -- hockey!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKc0F-4zhI/AAAAAAAAL24/HhAAblf9ts0/s1600/SAM_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKc0F-4zhI/AAAAAAAAL24/HhAAblf9ts0/s320/SAM_0375.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curling</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKdXteACCI/AAAAAAAAL28/uQtQnNvev1g/s1600/SAM_0384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKdXteACCI/AAAAAAAAL28/uQtQnNvev1g/s320/SAM_0384.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oyunnaran and I</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKd9MF14iI/AAAAAAAAL3A/1Uo1rmx6Lcs/s1600/SAM_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKd9MF14iI/AAAAAAAAL3A/1Uo1rmx6Lcs/s320/SAM_0385.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nonchalantly resting at a table and chairs made of ice.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKenfkEiyI/AAAAAAAAL3E/tkNuBLGoC1Q/s1600/SAM_0393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKenfkEiyI/AAAAAAAAL3E/tkNuBLGoC1Q/s320/SAM_0393.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My coworkers competing in the tug-of-war competition. <br />I, shockingly, was not chosen to represent my work in this event.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKfJauNSFI/AAAAAAAAL3I/Z45QkVEfQkU/s1600/SAM_0394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKfJauNSFI/AAAAAAAAL3I/Z45QkVEfQkU/s320/SAM_0394.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We lost. :(</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKh3Ze8HZI/AAAAAAAAL3Q/ruN4uTlnuGk/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="42" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EjCXIBaWzSk/TTKh3Ze8HZI/AAAAAAAAL3Q/ruN4uTlnuGk/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Kara Estephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394932308123985207noreply@blogger.com1